Black and Fantasia
by Howling Din
Summary: Rival cultures clash as the existence of another continent is revealed, and its militant civilization launches an invasion of the Land of Ooo. Finn the Human will be faced with a darker side of his world as the land he's sworn to defend is changed forever by war.
1. The Ambassadors

**This book was started a rather long while ago, so I wish to point out that its starting point in the timeline is circa The Red Throne.**

 **Every OC with a name is a darker, brighter, or just differently colored counterpart to a character from the show.**

* * *

The aftermath of desolation; rusted remains, small mammals, and noises produced of defeatism and decay. Wet puddles of dirt and poison. Black birds flying overhead.

Move past.

The world has risen anew, into a form of whim, brightness and fantasy. Never the same again, but once again a place to be. Ranges of mountains of ice. A kingdom of candy, softness and fluff, it's princess riding overhead on a magical rainbow unicorn. Tall spires of earth covered with grass. A pit of darkness, from which the vampire hisses. An open field of green, with a house in the likeness of a tree, wide and fat. Inside the house, a boy and a dog, brothers for life, hit their fists together.

* * *

 _What do you do, when you're in a crazy foreign land, surrounded by crazy foreign people, with crazy foreign customs? I'll tell you._

 _You wing it._

 _Its a proving from the top of the mountain. Ah, some people in the role prepare, gather some intel in advance to try and take the guesswork out of it._

 _But not me. I know that the real trick to the trade is to never, ever, admit you don't know what you're doing. I know that the foreign people are just as terrified of me as I of them, and my edge is being aware of that._

 _It's still not easy, though. You may have to perform, and even strangle someone. Just remember you're not there to be dignified, you're there on a mission._

 _-Jake the Dog_

* * *

His horse trotted gracefully, carrying him along a path flanked evenly by thick expanses of tall, yellow trees. He himself was concealed head to toe by a cloak and hood. The sun was just coming up in the sky.

He and the horse reached the top of an upward incline of the road, rendering visible their destination. It was a city, colored brightly with cheerful, childlike colors. It had giant walls, and a moat. The centerpiece of the city was a large palace, made diminutive by its own architecture. An enormous tree grew out of the top of its center building.

"This... is the place?" He spoke with a voice that suggested his cords were infused with the pure essence of chili pepper.

"The Candy Kingdom, yes. Kingdom of Candy works as well." Replied the horse, whose voice possessed a solid gold resonance; male cords that implied a pairing of every sentence with the unheard phrase, 'I am a gentleman.'

He licked his chops. "It looks rather appetizing. Let's go get ourselves allowed in."

The horse continued along the road. The scenery was unremarkable. Trees on the left and right of the road ensured that all which could be seen of the horizon was the depth of the woodland visible to the naked eye.

They rounded a curve, and the city became visible again. From their new perspective, the palace was barely visible past the enormous walls. The road led up to the gatehouse, the drawbridge of which was wide open. The portcullis, however, was closed. A pair of figures stood guard outside the drawbridge. They looked like extremely thick, rounded cones with very short legs coming out of a flat bottom. Their skin texture was like that of an unpeeled banana. Each carried a spear, rested on the ground.

As he and the horse got close, one of the guards raised his free hand, "halt!"

The horse stopped, he made no movement underneath his cloak.

The guard stepped up close. "Welcome to the Candy Kingdom. As you're a new face, I need to ask a few questions before you're allowed in. Standard procedure."

He clenched his teeth. He was already uncomfortable with this place. Nonetheless, he nodded his hood.

The guard took this as an affirmative. "Thank you for your time. What is your name?" He said as he took out a clipboard and pencil.

"Craw." Answered the man under the hood.

"And what's your occupation?"

"Mysterious wanderer."

"Ooh, that's a pretty cool occupation. We've only had three of those this week." He busily jotted things down on his clipboard.

Craw was getting impatient. He couldn't stand people like this, he looked up at the walls surrounding the city, he couldn't stand places where they could live safely.

"Okay, almost done." Said the guard. "What's your alignment?"

He looked down at the guard from his highhorse, and grinned with all his teeth exposed, their white lack of pigment making itself visible from the shadow of his cowl, "chaotic evil."

The guard didn't react to this, he just busily jotted things on his clipboard. "Well, it's clear, from the data I have, that you pose a high chance of causing trouble here." He kept writing things. "Let's see, carry the six, fiddle with this gizmo here, and your score is... a C minus!"

"Wait, score?"

"C minus is passing grade, you can go in." The guard turned around and made a hand gesture. The portcullis rose up, clearing the way. He looked back at Craw. "Enjoy your stay in the Candy Kingdom!"

He looked up at the open gate, then back at the guard, then at the gate. "Well alright then." The horse continued through the open gate.

The main road was crowded with candy people. All of them were walking casually, dancing on the spot, or doing any kind of whimsical, peaceful activity of their choosing, free of danger or rebuke. The city had a lot of space, and as many small trees as buildings.

"This seems like a nice town." Said the horse. "Our homeland is nothing like this place."

Craw took exception at the horse's positive outlook. "Look at these people." He remarked in the horse's social direction as they walked down the active main street. "I could blindside any one of them and they wouldn't have a chance."

"I'm sure if you tried to pull something like that here, you'd have to contend with the police, and perhaps those automatons sitting on the walls."

He swallowed his spit, and spoke over the din of the city. "So their survival is provided for them by someone else. What's that prove?"

"I'm well aware you don't like this place, Craw." Said the horse patronizingly. "There's no need for redundancies. Unless you're trying to trigger an epiphany in me with your words?"

He laughed. "There you go over-thinking things. I was only venting."

"Is this really the time or place?"

He smiled with his lips. "The only time and the only place: here and now."

"Just... try to focus on what we're here for."

They continued along the main street. On the route they were going, it would take them straight to the palace. Craw took out a toothpick and scraped his teeth with it. "Take us to the side streets. Places like this always have some kind of backwater pub where all the lowlifes hang out."

The horse complied, taking the next right into the backstreets. As they advanced deeper downtown, the street narrowed, then gave way to an open space, the centerpiece of which was a run-down, single story bar. A handful of bicycles and cars were parked In its makeshift lot. The horse stopped in front of the door, and Craw dismounted. They walked into the place together.

The bar was dimly lit. It rank of sweat and spoiled candy. Nobody inside was quiet, yet they all kept hushed enough so nobody could hear them. Craw and the horse made their way to a table near the middle. All of the corner tables were taken. Craw took off his cloak and lay it over his chair as he sat down. The horse backed up to the other chair, and stood on two legs. He lifted out a smoking pipe in sync with sitting down. The pipe reached his mouth at the same time his glute made contact with the seat. "This place will do nicely." He said in a gentlemanly tone.

Craw set a satchel on the table. "So what's the mission, Gates?"

Gates clupped his pipe in his mouth, freeing both his hands. He put his front hoofs in the satchel and took out a quill, an ink bottle, and a huge roll of blank parchment. He set the items on Craw's half of the table. "You're on recon. Go map out the city."

Craw looked at the items, then at the horse, then at the items, then at the horse. "What, in our history together, makes you think I'm any good at drawing a map?"

Gates flicked a hoof at him in dismissal. "It doesn't have to be an atlas, just something to give us a general idea of the layout."

"Oh! Say no more." He unrolled a flat spot on the parchment and began etching onto it with the quill.

Gates signaled a waiter, and ordered a drink.

Craw was oblivious as he focused on the parchment. "Let's see, it's surrounded by walls... and this here's the moat. The two big circles are the huge robots sitting on the walls. And there's the layout!" He finished up and slouched back in his chair, smiling lazily."

Grant leaned over and looked at his handiwork. "If you're done wasting parchment, go outside and do it properly."

"Why don't you just cut out the irrelevances and just say 'go outside'?"

"Craw." Said Gates in a rising tone of impatient agitation.

"I don't take orders from you, Gates."

The horse leaned in to talk more quietly. "Yes, you do. While we're in the land of ooo, my word is that of the empress, god save her." He clupped his hand on his heart as he said this. "You can't feign ignorance on this one, she made sure you were there when I was appointed ambassador. And I'm telling you to go map out the city."

Craw shook his head. "Dude, don't pull rank on me. You're better than that."

Gates leaned back, sighing. The dingy haze and monotonous din of the tavern kept its consistency, oblivious to their conversation. "I wish I didn't have to. You do know how lucky you are? If you were any less of a warrior, the empress would have had you ripped apart for your insolent demeanor a long time ago."

"And if she were any less wealthy, I'd have gone to work for someone else a long time ago."

The horse stared at him blankly. For many, many minutes.

He made a wide shrug. "So we both need to improve, me and her."

Gates began hitting his horse head on the table.

Craw stood up. "So just let me make the decisions, as you clearly can't handle the pressure." He put his cloak back on as he walked past him, he pat him on the shoulder. "You walked us all the way here, so you just stay here, check us in and relax." He reached over and took the parchment, ink and quill. "I'm going to map out the city, just one question."

"What?"

"This map, what sort of dossier is it going in? A tour guide, or an invasion plan?"

"That depends on how negotiations go. Just try to get everything."

He trotted off cheerfully. "Alrighty then. I'm off."

"Craw."

He stopped. "What is it, mister super-big gentlemanly ambassador?"

Gates glanced over at him. "Don't do anything... chaotic, while you're loose in the city. We're not looking to start a war."

He snapped his fingers and pointed at Gates with the same motion and hand. "You're exactly correct. That isn't her high-and-mightiness' way."

"Good, I'm glad you understand."

"Yeah, because you know..." He turned around and walked toward the door. "She hasn't delivered a ridiculous ultimatum to this kingdom's ruler. We can't do war 'till that's taken care of, first, am I right?" He exited the door before Gates could rebuke him.

Gates sat sideways in his seat, looking toward the door flapping shut. He was smiling. The waiter put the drink he ordered on the table. He took it and took a hearty gulp, then spoke to himself. "The horse and the ass. That's what she called us, as a team." He turned back to the table. "Fitting name, really."


	2. The Recipients

The boy strolled through the streets of the Candy Kingdom, with a backpack weighted with items slung around his shoulders. He wore a blue t-shirt and shorts, and a white hood that concealed all of his head and neck, but left a large oval open for his face.

At his side was a dog, who kept pace with him. He was yellow, with beady eyes and a very short snout.

The boy looked down at the dog. "So, Jake, selling off the koo-koo clocks, yay or nay?"

"Yeah, Finn totally sell them, why would you even ask that?" They walked along the main street uninterrupted, speaking over the din made inevitable by the presence of the crowds of candy people going about their business. "It seems like a no-dinger, you know? What would we do with a bunch of koo-koo clocks?"

"Well," Finn put his index finger and thumb on his chin, making deep thought, or at least, his version of deep thought. "I was thinking of making a koo-koo wall."

"What's that?"

"It's like, this wall." He set his hands apart at parallel angles, as if trying to convey the size of something. "Where it's all koo-koo clocks. And when it's time for it to go 'koo-koo!' They all do it at the exact same time. And it makes this..." His eyes became beady, "effect..." he drew the word out, conveying drama.

Jake was quiet for a minute as they walked along the street together. He looked up at Finn. "Finn, I gotta say, that-sounds-awesome! All right! We're keeping the koo-koo clocks."

"But selling the bones and slug eggs."

"Totally, dude."

They stopped in front of the stairway leading up into the candy palace. "Alright," said Finn, "Let's go settle up our quest and get paid."

"What about selling our junk?" Said Jake. "Peebles can wait a half-hour or so more. The job is done anyway."

Finn put his hand behind his head, scratching it. "Yeah, but..."

Jake sighed, "all right, compromise. You go do the items, since it's all in your bag. And I'll go let the princess know that Skull Tower has been cleared out."

Finn thought for a second, then any tension that could be noticed on his face evaporated as he smiled at Jake. "Yeah, sure thing, bro." They split up, with Finn heading to the market area. It wasn't far from the center of the city, and he reached it quickly.

Finn strolled through the market stalls. It was the middle of the day, and the place was packed. In the background, closer to the main roads, he could see buildings that comprised more committed shops. He scanned them, looking for a pawnbroker. The trail through the rows of stalls led him right up to the outer wall of the town. He continued along the road between the walls and the market, keeping his head locked to the right to scan the market for what he was looking for.

It was only a fraction of a second between noticing the entity directly in front of him and walking right into it, but miraculously, that was all the time he needed to stop before he did. Finn found himself point-blank to a robed figure. The figure was only slightly taller than Finn. His face and figure were completely concealed, and his attention was focused on a sheet of parchment. He held the parchment over his left hand and forearm, and wrote things on it with a quill in his right hand, stopping incrementally to look up at the wall, then go back to writing. He didn't seem to notice Finn, in spite of them being literally inches apart. "Excuse me, may I ask what you're doing?" Finn couldn't help asking. There was a chance the figure might be out to cause trouble.

The robed figure didn't answer.

Finn decided to just leave him alone. He walked past him, continuing along the street.

"What is it?" Called the figure after Finn. His voice was low and soft, with a steady hum heavy with bass. It confirmed to Finn that the figure was male. He turned around to face him again. "Was just curious, dude. I wanted to know what you're doing."

"What are you, a cop?" The figure snapped. "What the math's it look like I'm doing?"

"Hey!" Said Finn as he walked up to him again. "I was only asking you a question, if you want me to mind my owns, you only need to say so."

The figure lowered his quill and parchment, letting them hang at his side. He turned to face Finn directly. "Sorry I was rude, man. I'm not looking to start any fights. Are we cool?"

Finn still couldn't see his face underneath the hood. "Sure, we're cool." Cool is good. "What were you doing? That is, if you... don't mind my asking?"

"Not a bit!" He said confidently as he pointed up at the wall. "I'm writing down the precise longitude and latitude of every watch post on the wall, here, so I can make a comprehensive layout map later."

Those sentences hit Finn like a warning siren. It sounded like some stuff Jake explained to him once about a thing called espionage. It was settled. He had to interrogate this guy. "Why are you doing that?" He couldn't jump to conclusions. True to his alignment, he did some study on how to properly administer justice. That training led him to doubt any fast-made conclusions. This guy could be an engineer, or he might be working for the guard. He couldn't be sure, he started feeling more and more uncertain and on edge, and his brow was locked in a tense furrow.

"I'm an independent architect, commissioned to plan renovations on the Candy Kingdom walls." He spoke with ease. His mouth was smiling with a reserved enthusiasm. He seemed to speak from the heart.

Finn made a sigh of relief. His uneasiness evaporated. If this guy worked for Princess Bubblegum, there was no way he was up to no good. "Okay, thanks for your time. Don't let me keep you."

He turned back to the wall, taking his quill and parchment back up. "Anytime, mister...?"

"Oh! I'm Finn, Finn the human."

"Anytime, Finn the human." His mood had sobered, and he was back to concentrating on his task.

Finn tentatively walked away. "Laters, then..."

"Yuup, have a nice day."

Finn moved on, leaving the stranger behind. As he moved along the street, it occurred to him that it completely slipped his mind to ask for his name. Oh, well, he decided, if he had to know, he could just ask the princess. He made his way back into the market area, and spotted what he was looking for; a pawnshop.

* * *

The day was coming to a close, and the sun was low in the sky, casting the city in a far less colorful palette. Craw had just entered the area in front of the tavern which served as its unofficial courtyard. It had been a very long day, and he was ready to hit the sack.

A group of candy thugs came out of cover as he crossed the middle of the space, out in the open. The thugs walked briskly up and surrounded him. He stopped moving, and counted their step rate. There were five of them. They were all different brands of candy, but they all had something in common in that they were all filthy. One of them spoke: "You're an outsider."

"That is correct." He said briefly.

"We don't take kindly to outsiders."

"You don't take kindly to me?" He asked rhetorically. "That's okay. I don't need your kindness."

"What he's tryin' to tell you." Said another thug. "Is that you and your horse better leave town, else there'll be trouble."

Any worry he had for Gates was immediately settled by his own constantly active reasoning faculty. They wouldn't dare attack him in a crowded tavern with so many witnesses. "I see your point."

"Good." Said the lead thug. They all started walking away. "You guys better be outta here tonight, got me?"

"And my answer is no."

"What you say?" They turned back to him. The lead walked up to him, imposing his larger figure on Craw's shorter self. "You looking for trouble, boy?"

"No, I've done nothing. You're looking for trouble. And let me just say." He lifted his hood, revealing his face. "You should have taken me by surprise when you had the chance."

The thug shook his head. "This ain't any place for bravado, kid. Leaving won't kill you, so just-"

"You worm!" He shouted in passionate anger. "I officially no longer care what you have to say. There's only one person, on this entire world I take orders from." He pointed at the thug in confrontation, then brushed his arm sideways. "We have nothing to discuss. I owe you nothing, but this warning: I'll do as I please, and if you attack me, that will be the end of you."

The lead thug looked him in the eye. Their visual deadlock lasted for an agonizing minute. The sun went down completely, and they all began seeing with the help of faint moonlight, and the glow coming out of the tavern windows. The air reached a temperature milestone, becoming decidedly cold. At the end of it, the thug slowly formed a smile. "You're alright, for an outsider." He put up his hands. "You win, we'll leave you and your friend alone." He turned around and walked away, his gang following. "Come on, guys. Let's go hang out at the junkyard fires."

Craw smiled after him. He didn't see it. "And you're alright, too, for a thug." He turned away and walked into the tavern.

Gates was still at their table. Their satchel was on the floor, leaning against his chair. The table was occupied entirely by a veritable metropolis of empty liquor bottles. Craw walked past Gates' relaxed figure, tapping him on the shoulder to make sure he was awake as he went to his seat. "Good glob, Gates." He said as he sat down on his chair opposite from Gates'. "I don't want to have to carry a horse, so I hope you can at least manage your way up to our room."

Gates waved a hoof ineptly at Craw, letting it slide left and right. "You underestimate my fortitude, boy."

"I had no Idea you were under so much stress." He was smiling goodnaturedly, amused at seeing the normally disciplined and uptight horse in a state of stupor. "Look, I'm tired, and you're peshed, so we'll talk in the morning." He got up from his seat, walked over and picked up the satchel, slinging the strap over his shoulder, then he took Gates' hoof, and pulled him out of his seat. "Let's get you to bed." Gates walked on his own two back hoofs, but he still needed Craw to guide him. He took the horse to the stairway in the corner near the bar. "Which room is ours, Gates?"

Gates raised his other front hoof. "Master Craw was given a room in the west wing of the palace, but he never so deigned as to ever use it."

Craw hung his head, rolling his eyes. "Oh beejuice, he's wasted." He looked over at the bartender, and signaled him over. "Which room did," he pointed at Gates' head, "this horse rent?"

"Room three!" Replied the bartender over the noise of the bar.

"Thank you!" He pulled Gates up the steps as the bartender went back to his task. Craw reached the end of the steps, still guiding Gates. The upstairs was a narrow, dimly lit hallway, made darker by the low-brightness color of the candy walls and ceiling. He made his way over to room three, and opened the door.

The room inside was surprisingly welcoming. It was recently cleaned, and a handful of lit lamps illuminated the room enough to see just fine, but still very dim, so it wouldn't disturb someone in a sleepy mood. There were two beds. Gates must have wisely asked for a room with that in it. He pulled him over to one of the beds, and then let him fall down on it.

Craw took off his cloak and most of his clothes, and got under the covers of the other bed. As he dozed off into sleep, he saw Gates make an absentminded kick into the blankets he lay on in the other bed. He sighed, and sagged his way back onto the floor. "I'm just too nice for my own good." He said as he pulled Gates' blanket out, and then threw it over him.


	3. Sky Mountain

_I don't like magic. It's not that magic has wronged me, or made my life difficult. I dislike magic so I don't have to dislike the people who believe so blindly in it. The truth is that what people call magic is scientific application with exaggerated presentation. I don't like seeing people, especially my subjects, buy into it for such meaningless side details. I feel like it would be better if they moved on from such whimsical flights of fancy, and focused instead on a deeper understanding of the thing that makes their lives so... magical._

 _Growth or dissolution is a code I have embraced, and growth is impossible without seeking truths in the things that interest you._

 _However, my view changed, when I encountered the cold spell. It was a spell I sought out when one of my people refused medicine that would cure his sickness, and instead wanted to be cured by magic. Disagreeing with his position, but still wanting him to get well, I set out for the city of wizards to acquire a cold spell._

 _Events became a little chaotic, and we ended up in wizard prison. That is when the cold spell happened. After opening the bottle, it turned out to be a cold spell in the other sense of the word. It unleashed a blizzard all through the prison, and we escaped._

 _This is the part where I must confess. The cold spell wasn't magic, it was science in a bottle. But what it turned out to be, counter to my expectations, and the context it was used, the way it came out of its heavy, crystalline bottle to fill the entire area with snow and cold. In that moment, I was enchanted, truly enchanted._

 _And so I dutifully admit I was wrong. It was I who wouldn't grow, I who wouldn't understand. Magic does truly exist._

 _It exists in our hearts._

-Princess B. Bubblegum

* * *

Gates felt an invasion to his slumber. A tap on his body, followed and backed by a sequence of taps. In his state of mind, the physical contact washed over him as a sensation, and not a pleasant one. He mulled and turned, hoping it would go away.

"Gates," spoke a voice.

The voice added a whole new layer of discomfort. He wanted to go back to his previous state of mind, but attaining that goal implicated he would then have no way of stopping the intrusion. After mulling it over, he decided he had no choice but to ride it up.

Gates became conscious. He opened his eyes and saw Craw standing over his bed. He had a hand over his shoulder, ready to tap it again. "What time is it?" Said Gates.

"It's O'five hundred hours on the dot."

Gates turned away, groaning in complaint. "Do you ever sleep for more than a few hours?"

"There'll be plenty of time for that when I'm old." He patted Gates again. "Now wake up, we have a big day ahead of us."

Gates' head felt like a bunch of apes fighting over a big ball of iron.

Craw headed for the door. He looked over at Gates. "I'm going downstairs to have breakfast. Want me to order you up anything?"

Gates sat up on his butt. His snout coming to hang over the foot of the bed. "Apples would be great."

"Apples for the horse!" Said Craw cheerfully as he went out and closed the door.

Gates got out of bed. He looked over at the sachel, still next to Craw's bed. They could both talk over the table about their mission, he decided. The sun had not even come up yet. And the room was almost pitch black with the door shut. Gates sat on his bed with his hind legs hanging off. He spent a few moments leaning over with his eyes shut. Then he got up on his feet and stretched in a single, swift motion. He picked up the satchel and headed out the door. The door gave way to a narrow hallway. The tavern had become notably quiet. He smiled, this was a rare time of the day when everybody, of every type was normally asleep. It was easy to tell which direction the stairs were by the light coming from downstairs. He went down them, walking on two hoofs with precision and grace. Alcohol might be able to disrupt his coordination, but no hangover would ever get the best of him. Gates spotted Craw as he came down the steps, he had taken a corner table in the quiet, deserted morning tavern. He walked past the expanse of floor to their table, and took a seat.

"I already ordered a bucket of apples for you." Said Craw. "You ready to talk business?"

"Sure. Did you map the city, like I asked?"

"Sure did. I made a list of coordinates. All I need now is some graph paper to illustrate the layout."

Gates smiled through his headache. "Clever, I must say, well done."

"So what's the primary mission?"

"In two days, we're going to deliver an ultimatum to this land's ruling Princess."

Craw tapped the table with his hand a single time, making a resounding noise. "Hm! I knew it."

Gates continued, ignoring Craw's outburst. "The ultimatum demands that this land's Princess 'open the floodgate.'"

"Floodgate? What does that mean?"

"I asked the very same thing when she told me the message. She said that the recipient would know what it meant. I didn't question further."

"Floodgate, huh? Sounds cryptic. Maybe it's some kind of embargo?"

Gates held in a chuckle. "What embargo could our land possibly suffer from? It has cities thick with with steel towers. Ships as large as mountains. Locomotives that can transport goods well beyond the capacity of any pack animal. What could we possibly need from another country enough to go to war over?"

Craw thought for a moment. "Beats me. Let's change the subject, alright? Politics make my head hurt. What have you dug up on the land of Ooo?"

"I was in this tavern soaking up information all day yesterday, so quite a bit."

"Well? Fill me in."

"Sure." He tinked his pipe into a free held grip in his mouth, and then leaned over, lighting it on the candle in the middle of their table. He began speaking only after taking a whiff and getting settled. "The land of Ooo is divided into highly distinct regions, all defined by their own unique topography. You have the Kingdom of Candy, and nearby are the grass plains, a bit farther, and you'll reach the Ice Kingdom."

"Let me guess, there's also a Fire Kingdom?"

Gates nodded. "That is correct."

Craw laughed out loud. "Seriously? There is?"

"There is. But it's nearly impossible to survive there if you're not a native."

"Wait, people actually live there?"

"As the name implies, they have an entire kingdom."

"A kingdom of fire people... How many kingdoms are there in Ooo?"

Gates blew a ring of smoke out of his mouth. "Countless, many are very small, and nearly all of them have a resident princess. There's been no real war in a very long time."

"Tch, princesses, a lawful goodie-fest."

Gates laughed in low key, without opening his mouth. "And I suppose the fact that our nation uses an empress swings us over to lawful evil?"

"Who really cares about alignment?"  
"You don't like the alignment system?"

Craw tapped his middle finger on the table with a laid flat hand. He was looking off with his head turned to the side. "If it were true, then there would only be nine kinds of people in the entire world. Don't you think that would be boring?"

"It would make knowing someone a simple process, thereby making it easy to determine how every individual is to be judged."

"Yeah, but is it true? Are there really only nine types in the world? I mean, you can reasonably sort nearly anybody into one of the alignments, but is that right?"

Gates put his hoof under his pipe. He had his eyes shut in meditation, he opened them, and looked at Craw. "You are a chaotic evil. You admit as much yourself. At face value, it's the most destructive of all the alignments; the most evil. And yet..." He clupped a hoof on the table. "The nation founded by our Empress is the best thing to ever happen to our land." He shook his head. "And if not for you, it might not have survived to reach the state of prosperity which it's in now. Without your strength on our side, we might not have been able to defeat the powerful warlords who ruled our continent. You saw their armies, you know the threat they posed."

Craw waved a hand in dismissal. "I sided with the Empress because she was able to pay me more than any of the other rulers. Don't try to make me out some sort of hero. Besides, you're no small contributor yourself."

Gates leaned forward toward him. "That's exactly right! You having taken the side of wealth; of prosperity, is a big reason all the people of our land have better lives today."

"Look, all I was out to do was fill my pockets. My motives are selfish."

Gates went back to a comfortable sitting position. He huffed in his equivalent of a sigh. "We're getting off subject. We can talk this stuff off mission." The sun was rising in the sky, letting the first natural light pour into the tavern windows.

"Yeah, you're right. Back to business. Does this land have any heroes?"

"Two, here in the Candy Kingdom." He stuck both front hoofs into the satchel and took out a pair of dossiers, both very thick. He dumped them on the table. Craw took the one on the top, and undid the string holding it shut. The waiter came to their table, and set a bucket of apples on Gates' side of the table, and a bowl of gummy bears on Craw's. Craw shifted through the dossier, not once looking directly at his gummy bears but still managing to know where they are and put them in his mouth one by one. "Jake the Dog, eh?"

"That is correct."

"It says here that he's magical."

Gates nodded. "He's capable of freely changing his size and shape into anything"

"Wow." Said Craw. "Here's the golden question, now; is he good with it?"

"That... is a very wise question. The answer is yes, he's mastered it."

"He might prove to be a challenge, then. That is, if he's motivated to fight me."

"What makes you doubt that?"

"The dossier states that from scout observations, he's been categorized as chaotic good. He used to hawk stolen bicycles, and is a former professional criminal. All under the explanation that he," he made finger quotes, "didn't know it was wrong."

"He has a girlfriend, and several children with her. Perhaps we could use that to our advantage?"

Craw glared up at Gates from his reading. "What the beorc, Gates? That's not like you, to suggest something like that."

"Oh, I just thought, you know." He shrugged absently, looking away. "Since you're chaotic evil, and your motives are 'selfish' as you describe..."

Craw hit a fist on the table. "Are you still penned from last night? None of that means I'm a blubbing coward, who would go after a bunch of kids! What's wrong with you?"

Gates sagged. "Forgive me, that was out of line. I'm just a bit... cranky."

"It's cool, dude. I did get impatient for you to wake up." He closed up the dossier, and then set it back on the table. He took a handful of gummy bears from his bowl of them, dumping them into his mouth. While he chewed, he took the other leather package stuffed with documents. Gates gave in to his eagerness and started crunching down on his apples. Craw unwound the string on the dossier and opened it up. He looked for a second, then exclaimed, "Holy fritz! I ran into this guy!"

Gates pulled his head out of the apple bucket to snap it at Craw. "What..? When, where?"

"Yesterday, out on the streets."

"Oh, gob, Craw. Did you tell him anything?"

"He asked me questions, acted uppity about a few things, lawful good for sure."

Gates wanted to grip his skull. "What did you say to him?"

"I told him..." he thought for a second. "I think I fed him a story that I was working as an architect."  
This gave Gates cause to relax. Craw's intelligence and ability to form believable lies was always, for the horse, a source of comfort and assurance. He exhaled with relief. "Thank glob. He must have thought you were working for Princess Bubblegum."  
"Is that the Candy Kingdom's frilly?"

"Yes, PB works as well. She's our new topic. We need to be very careful around her."

"Why? Isn't she just some princess?"

Gates shook his head. "There's more to her than meets the eye. It is vaguely known that she's the suzerain of every other ruler in Ooo. That she's the reason there are no more wars on this continent."

Craw made an up and down nod that came down slower than it rose. Then he took another handful of gummy bears. "What's her forces?"

"This isn't some petty warlord like the ones you smashed back home. She has far more than a military."

"List them to me."

"Well, you have the Banana Guards, who police the candy kingdom. We ran into them when we came here."

"What else?"

"The two huge gumball machines sitting on the wall. They're actually powerful robots."

"What's their control?"

"Internal programming. If something threatens the kingdom, they activate."

"So no going after the remote. What about the heroes? Where do they live?"

"They live together in a house on the grass plains nearby."

"Is it a guarantee they'll get involved if negotiations get hostile?"

"No, they might be out doing something else."

Craw got up from his seat. "Okay then, if there's nothing else, I have a day to spend."

"What are you going to do?"

"That's something I'll need to find before I can do it, so don't keep me, I need all the time I can get today."

"Don't be gone for more than two days. That's when we officially 'arrive' here."

"Leaving, now."

"Right, then. Have a good time."

Craw walked away as he threw on his cloak, and then pulled the hood over his head, concealing his face.

* * *

Finn the Human set the fourth cuckoo clock on the wall. "And that makes four." He turned to Jake the Dog. "That's all we have."

Jake looked at the wall from a distance. As he observed, Finn walked up beside him to look at it as well. The wall was an enormous chunk of clean carved wood. The cuckoo clocks took up only a tiny fraction of space on it.

"I thinks more be needin'." Said Finn. They observed the wall a bit longer. "Where can we get more, do you think?"

"Cuckoo clocks are found all over. People dig them up every day."

"So..." Finn rubbed his chin with his fingers. "That means they're in dungeons, and shops. Do you think anybody makes them?"

"Yeah, I'm sure someone out there's figured out how they work."  
"So there might be a store that's all clocks somewhere out there."

"That, or we could go to a dungeon."

Finn walked toward the window. "I've pretty much memorized the items of every dungeon in arm's reach of here. None of them have Cuckoo clocks." He set his arms on the window sill, leaning out.

Another voice could be heard in the distance. It came from outside on the plains. "Breaking news! The gates of Sky Mountain are going to open, read all about it!"

Finn spotted a newspaper boy running through the grassy plains, shouting the pitch in a loop. He turned to Jake. "What's Sky Mountain?"

"It's this place that's been sealed up for a thousand years."

Finn turned back to the window. "That newspaper guy is saying it's about to open."

"I know where this is going." Said Jake with a tone of positive anticipation.

"We gotta go, man!" He walked up to Jake, getting face to face with him. He put his hands up in expression. "Nobody's been there for a thousand years, Jake!" His voice became high pitched from excitement. He ran over to a ladder leading down. When he got on it, he stopped with his head peeking over the edge at Jake. "You're not gonna sit this out, are you, Jake?"

"No, I'm coming. It's just maybe we should go in with a plan, gather some intel first, you know? There's no telling what might be in there after a thousand years." He walked over to the ladder.

Finn shook his head. "We gotta get there before anyone else. No time." He went down the ladder.

Humming deliberately, and with apprehension, Jake followed.

* * *

"Sky Mountain, eh?" Said Craw. His face shaded from the sunlight by his cowl.

"That's right." Said the candy thug as he took a broken chunk of peppermint from the junk pile and then broke it in half with his head. "It's only just opened up. For the first time in a thousand years." He lifted his head up from its bent over position to break the candy chunk, and looked in Craw's direction with his face. "There's all sorts of rumors on that place."  
"Do any of them say dangerous?" Craw lifted an eyebrow.

"Just about all of em'." He said as he walked up to what looked like a vague humanoid thrown together from a mix and match of candy pieces. He put the pieces of peppermint into spots where they would vaguely fit. And then sprayed the contact points with hot water from a spray hose.

They were surrounded by tall piles of discarded candy matter. The occasional burn barrel could be seen near the bigger lumps. A large clearing in the dunes gave room for a tall, circular fence with chunks of candy scattered in and around it. These chunks were different from the normal junk; they were all comprised of few or many pieces adhered together in random order.

"Thanks, CT. I think I'll go there." Said Craw as he turned and walked away.

"Hey, wait!" Said the Candy Thug. He took out a remote and pressed a button on it. The humanoid candy creation he had just been working on came to life. "Next round is coming up. You wanna place a bet?"

Craw stopped without looking back. "Ten silvers on yours. If it loses I'll pay you back when I get back."  
"Fair enough. Good luck adventuring."

* * *

Finn and Jake entered into the cave. Other people were also coming in at the same area of time. The entry gave way to a spacious cavern with a smooth stone tile floor. Before them was a set of doors that went all the way up to the ceiling, as part of an enormous carved out structure in the back of the cave. A congregation of people from all different regions were gathered in front of the doors. Finn could see candy people, snow golems, fire people, and even wizards. All there to be the first in a thousand years to see the place known as Sky Mountain.

"When is this door supposed to open?" Asked Finn out loud, seeing that the gate was shut tight.

"It's supposed to open when the clock strikes eight." Said Jake.

Finn saw a clock mounted on the center of the gate. The hour hand was on eight, and the minute hand was on the twelve, precisely. "Why hasn't it opened, then?"

"Those numbers on the clock aren't hours, they're millenniums."

"Millennium?"

"A thousand years. The door opens every time the hour hand hits a new number. There's a little longer before it reaches it precisely."

"How long, do you think?"

"I'm not sure. It shouldn't be long now." Jake spotted several groups going off in their own spots to set up camps. "They got the right idea." He looked to Finn. "The minute hand is in the first half of the click that'll bring it past the twelve. We have no way to predict when it'll open exactly."  
"You're suggesting we set up camp here?"

"Yeah."

Finn thought to himself. "Well, I do want to get in as quick as possible."

"A mad dash for the treasure."

Finn nodded. "I don't want to lose to one of these other guys on a head start."

"Good thinking." The voice came from someone else. They turned to the source. It was the cloaked figure Finn ran into the other day.

"Who are you?" Said Jake.

"Craw." He replied.

"So that's your name." Said Finn.

"You know this guy?" Jake looked at Finn.

"We ran into each other yesterday. He's some kind of errand boy."

"Agent." Craw corrected.

"Sure, yeah." Finn continued directing his words at Jake. "He works for PB. Secretive kind of thing."

Jake groaned in uncertainty. He was frowning at Craw.

Craw put up a hand. "That's irrelevant, though. I'm here as a fellow, rival adventurer." He extended a hand to Finn. "May the best man win."

Finn put a hand forward, then stopped halfway. He looked at Craws hand tentatively.

The hand remained, patient.

Finn took it, and they shook.

Then, without another word, Craw walked away from them.

"Whatd' you say that guy did..?" Said Jake, as soon as he was out of earshot.

Finn looked back at him as he was walking away. "He said he was an architect, on private contract or something."

"That's a lie, dude."

"What? How do you know?"

Jake shook his head, slowly, deliberately. "I ain't never seen that guy before in my life." He looked Finn in the eye. "We live right next to the Candy Kingdom. Have you ever seen him before?"

Finn shook his head in 'no.'

"He's not from around here. And he lied to you. There's something sinister-"

"That's irrelevant, Jake." Said Finn, cutting him off.

"How's it irrelevant? He might be a spy, or worse!"

"Whatever he is, he's here as an adventurer, just like us."

"How do you know that?"

"There's only one reason to be here." He looked at the gate to Sky Mountain. "Nobody knows anything about what's past this gate. Curiosity, enterprise, is the only motive for anyone being here." A sound rang through the hall. It was like that of a very thick, vibrating string. Finn looked toward the gate.

It was beginning to open.

There wasn't any time to think, no room for deliberating. He bolted for the gate, expecting without consideration for Jake to follow. All of the other adventurers were doing the same. None of them stood around. None of them failed to notice the opening. They also bolted for the door with an energy mirroring his own. He felt himself get caught up in it, and it made him surpass his limits. He ran faster.

There was no official start signal to prevent an unfair headstart, but that sorted itself out. The trials ahead would put everyone to the test. Finn could feel it in his gut. This was a ground of proving, not competition. There could be a million people crowding the gateway, no number could possibly defeat the one who would be the victor.

It is I, I will be the victor. And no, not the victor of these people, but of Sky Mountain. Finn felt this in his heart. He incidentally, but inconsequentially inhaled the breath of the adventurers near him as he ran. They, too, felt the same thing.

The open gate gave way to an extremely wide case of stone stairs. When the cluster of adventurers reached it, it thinned out as those who could move up the steps faster pulled ahead.

When Finn reached the steps, he didn't go up each one in a controlled motion, nor did he even skip steps. His physical instincts gave him a feeling, and he listened to it. He ran up the stairs, placing his feet down to push up and keep his diagonal momentum going. It didn't matter which steps he took, and which he skipped, all that mattered was his speed. He saw the crowd on the edges of his eyes thin out as he pulled ahead.

A bright light appeared in the top of his vision. He looked up, and saw a huge, shining gout of flame pass over him. It had to be a fire person.

He leveled his head, and continued his advance up the steps without slowing. Things were heating up.

The top of the steps gave way to an open floor. The ceiling was still very high. Ahead was a round back wall even wider than the stairs. Along the wall was a row of open entrances. He couldn't see what was in any of them.

He didn't stop for a second. As he ran toward the entrances, he looked down at Jake, who was running beside him. They looked at each other, and then nodded in understanding. They split up.

Finn headed toward the second entrance to the left. The second he passed its threshold, the darkness concealing it gave way to an open hallway. The floor was still smooth and level. He continued his run. As he ran, he started to feel on edge. What was the point in having a bunch of entrances if they were just open paths? Perhaps he picked the only safe one?

It was such a tiny window of time, one would have to, on any account, have to reach back and grab it to examine it. In this window of time, a small object became visible, then it came closer. It was flying in a beeline straight toward Finn's head.

His paranoia in that moment, his instinct, and the adrenaline of the situation all gave him just enough reflex to move his head to the side. The object whizzed past his head, with a velocity that made him feel the vibration through the air.

He didn't stop, he couldn't. The object was all the warning he needed, now he could defend himself. Finn put his right arm forward. Wrapped around the front of his forearm and wrist was a band made of grass. He put his will into it, and it unwound. The band of grass floated past his hand, and formed into a full-length sword. The hilt came neatly into his palm.

The next projectile came at him. It was extremely fast.

But the grass blade was faster. He sliced in in two. The two halves of the stone ball flew harmlessly to his sides. He continued his rapid advance. Three more balls came flying. They were all the same distance from him, and in a perfect triangle formation.

Finn sidestepped to the left, and swung the grass blade in an upward diagonal cut, getting the balls on the left and top. He was out of the way of the one on the right. All of it passed him.

Not wasting an instant, he went back to his run. He could see a light at the end of the tunnel.

* * *

Jake the dog emerged at the end of his tunnel. It gave way to an area that felt outdoor. Ahead, he could see a part of the sky. There was a natural stone ceiling high above, covering the entire area. He looked to his left and right, and saw that all the other tunnels emerged here, too.

There was no floor, nor ground to speak of ahead of him, but a scattering of stalagmites, and small spires that produced tiny platforms. They all came from the abyss below, concealed beyond a certain point by fog. He looked ahead, smiling intently. This would be a breeze. He bent over the edge, over the yawning abyss.

He stretched his body ahead, and it went. His body wanted to fall over, but his front reached a thick stalagmite before it could. He wrapped his arms around the stone cone, then brought his back end over. Once settled there, he shuffled around so his body faced in the direction he needed to go. Then he tied his back legs around the stalagmite, wrapping them into a tall wrap completed by a tight knot.

He looked out with his head upside down, seeing many others pull ahead of him. They leaped and traversed the finely spotted archipelago of land with either excellent acrobatics or the ability to fly. Jake focused ahead, at his target. He reached out with his body, and quickly stretched all the way across. The solid land on the other side approached him in his vision with blurring speed. He set his front paws on the edge, then pulled his rear end over with equal speed. Just like that, he crossed the chasm. Ahead of him was a steep hill. It was covered with grass and summer flowers, heralding a return of direct sunlight. Jake ran up the hill.

* * *

Gates was still in the tavern. He didn't leave his seat. With meditation, and an extreme focus, he comprehended the entire scenario that surrounded him. Several of his tasks had been cleared, now it was time for phase two of reconnaissance. On the table were two sheets of paper. The first was the coordinate list made by Craw, the second was a layout map of the city which he had drawn. It was perfectly arranged. He had just completed the details. Without further ado, he took a huge book out of the satchel, then put the map inside it.

A tiny candy child, who was an orphan out on his free time, wandered past Gates' table. He was walking in a zigzag, looking left and right. His wandering through the city having incidentally brought him in here. Without words or stopping, the child placed a folded piece of paper on the table, and Gates slipped him a silver. The child kept walking as if nothing happened. Then he ran up to the bartender to bug him for a bit, as instructed by Gates earlier, in order to cover up his reason for being there.

Gates unfolded his update. He scanned the contents, then stuffed the note into his apple bucket with the rest. At the end, he would puke into it to cover up disposing of the letters. An unsavory, but necessary task for his plan. His vision settled, but was no less clear. He had this game. He knew all the pieces, all the moves, and all the outcomes.

One outcome; victory.

* * *

He resembled a clear pitcher. The pitcher widened slightly near the bottom before quickly converging into to a rounded base. Very transparent, it was filled with bubbling root beer, and the foam came out of the top to form his hair.

He walked through the halls of the candy palace. When he passed any of the posted or patrolling guards, they saluted him. He saluted in return, though more loosely. He was new to his post, so he didn't know what to do in that kind of interaction. Nobody seemed to mind it though.

He came to a double door, and opened it, pushing them with both hands. Beyond was a large, oval room. The rear of the room had a row of tall windows with little to no dividing space. Next to the windows was a desk that looked into the room. Sitting at the desk was a girl made of bubblegum. She had extremely long and thick, but neatly formed hair. A crown wrapped around her head and rose up in only a single spot, with a single gem at the top. She stopped what she was doing to look at him.

He walked to the middle of the room. The doors shut behind him. He saluted her. "Princess, I've come to deliver... uh, the update."

"Go ahead, Captain Root Beer Guy."

He looked back, at the doors.

"Don't worry, nobody's eavesdropping."

"Okay," He looked back at her. "The two foreigners are still here. Background checks turned up nothing."  
She frowned at this. "My database has at least a little bit on everyone, that's weird. What's their race?"

"The first is a horse known as Gates. He's the brains, from what I could deduce from their conversations. He hasn't left the tavern since checking in."

"And the other?"

"I don't know, humanoid for sure. He hardly ever takes off his cloak."

"Why do you think that is?"

"I sized him up myself. It's because he's carrying a lot of swords.

"I see."

"Look, uhh..." He scratched his hair.

She smiled. "Go ahead, speak freely."

He took a step forward. "This whole business is giving me a bad taste in my mouth. They're clearly up to no good."

She laughed, wholly, honestly. "And why do you think that?"

"Because they're not doing anything." He had to confront this. The safety of the kingdom was involved.

"Explain."

"Well, I went through all of the possible reasons they would have for being here, and concluded that if any of them were true, they would be doing something else. For example, if they were here on business, then at least one of them would be talking to more people. If they were tourists, then they would be out and walking around." He found himself pacing in a short line. His voice was flat, frank, and simple to understand. "Princess, From their actions since coming here, I have to conclude that the only reason they would do those things and not do the other things is that they're up to no good. They might be spies, or saboteurs."

She had her head cradled in a hand. Her mouth made a crooked smile. "That's good reasoning. But one more detail."

"What, princess?"

"Who are they spying for?"

"I don't know. I've never been real knowledgeable on foreign places. I guess I should study up a bit." He looked away.

"The problem is, Root Beer Guy, that I'm going through every other nation in Ooo, and none of them would sent spies like this."

He stepped forward. "You should let me arrest them! Then we can find out... who they're working for."

"No." Her face became serious.

"Why not? They're clearly up to no good. I was thinking of doing it anyway."

"You will not."

"Why not?"

"Because," she pinched a forefinger and thumb on her forehead. "Yeah, you're worth explaining to." She took a deep breath. "Root Beer Guy, normally, I would just give you orders, and expect you to follow them without question. I fell out of the habit of explaining my decisions when I realized it was a waste of time most of the time, but."  
"What?"

"You have a good head on your shoulders. You're way smarter than a normal candy person."

"Why, thank you, princess."

"So I'm going to explain to you, why you are not to arrest them."

"I'm listening." He was eager to hear it. His own reasoning made perfect sense to him.  
"The Banana Guard welcomed them here, what kind of reputation do you think the kingdom would get, if its police went back on their word?"

"Yeah, but just because these people are foreigners, welcome here, doesn't put them above the law."

"Have they broken the law? Even one time?"

"Well... no, but they might. It's probable cause."

"Probable cause, based on what?"

"Well, I... I just think so."

"And your reasoning is sound, but if the captain of the Banana Guard decided to arrest anybody based on personal suspicion, then other officials, of lesser ability than you, would take it as license to follow suit. That would breed corruption. And let me tell you, corruption is a serious pain in the bonks."

"But Princess, they're going to do something. I know it, and you agree. We should deal with it before it can become a serious problem."

She smiled. "That's a good attitude. If you can figure a way to handle it without violating due process, then go ahead. But for now, just keep an eye on them."

He nodded. "As you wish, Princess." He turned to leave.

"And don't let anybody other than your people know you're doing that. It would come as objectionable to some that you're spying on people."

"I think probable cause can at least let the police keep an eye on them, when they're in public that is."

"Very good. Thank you for your report. You're dismissed."

He opened the door and walked out.

* * *

Finn the human reached the top of the grassy hill. He had made it past the chasm at the end of the tunnel. He beheld a view that blew his mind. It was a mountain. To the left, right, top and even the lower area, near the base, was crowded with clouds that obscured everything else. In spite of this, the sunlight seemed to have no problem beating down on it. The mountain was almost vertical in angle, and clouds moved past and through it. It was huge, even for a mountain. Not a single mountain in Ooo he had ever seen even came close to it. The top of this stone tower of a mountain went into the clouds above, obscured. It had huge cliffs that hung out of its main body. They were all thick with forest. He could literally see the air blow past its jagged areas, implying the wind there was extremely fast.

Finn advanced along the top of the hill, walking now. He looked down, and saw a wide land bridge leading to it.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

The voice was Craw's. Finn turned to him. He was looking at the mountain too.

He looked at Finn. "We're the first ones here." He approached him. "If the time came, would you do it?"

"Dude, what are you talking about?" Finn was breathing heavily through his words, catching his breath.

"Have you ever been unhappy?"

"What's this coming from?"

"Just asking. I like to know people."

"Of course I've been unhappy before. That's just life; sometimes it rains."

"now, here's the real question. How do you deal with it, when it comes?"

"How else? You take it, then move on."

Craw made a sudden movement. It was a gesture. "And what about failure? Loss? Losing the things you love?"

Finn felt like old wounds were being opened. "Hey! What's this personal talk all of a sudden?"

"Finn, do you know what a hero is?"

He calmed down. "Of course. You always this serious about things?"

"Because you aspire to be one? A hero, that is?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"People's different answers to what it means to be a hero, is as diverse as their answer to what is good and what is evil. So I ask, what is your answer? What is a hero?"

Finn moved on. "I don't have to explain anything personal to you. That's private biz."

Craw moved on as well. "You're right, they're catching up." He dashed ahead. "Try to keep up with me, Finn the Human!"

Finn grinned as he resumed his run. He loved being challenged.


	4. Sky Mountain 2

_Sometimes people say that I'm stupid. They never say it directly, but its evident. It's not that I care about any of that, but they seem to think its a big deal; something they need to work around. They seem to feel they need to help me with things that are 'beyond my pay grade' I'm very sensitive to my friend's feelings, and so I want to help them with this baggage._

 _I learned that the best way to help them deal with their problems involving me is to just be myself. They seem to draw comfort from witnessing me display virtues other than intelligence. So it works out great. By not even going out of my way, I'm lifting a huge load off their backs, and getting them one step closer to being happy._

 _I don't like seeing my friends unhappy, I gotta watch out for them, it can be a real babysitting kind of duty sometimes._

-Finn the Human

* * *

Finn the Human landed on the next spot. The place he was navigating was suspended in the air, all coming out of the titanic stone pillar, a mountain, on his immediate left. He leaped to the next protrusion; a spike splintering out of one of the cracks. Then landed, keeping his balance. As he advanced around the mountain, looking for a way up, the land bridge he took to get to the mountain became visible again beneath him. He wasn't very high above it. He sighed in frustration. At least he was close enough to the main body of the mountain that the wind wasn't very strong.

"Hey, Finn."

Finn looked up, and saw Craw again. He was standing on a stone splinter just above and ahead of him. Finn figured he could jump there if he needed to. The problem was there was nowhere to go beyond it.

Craw pointed upward. "Just above me, about eight meters, is a walkable trail."

Finn decided to verbally cooperate. "That's great, but how are you gonna reach it?"

"Your sword, it can pierce rock, can it not?"

Without thinking, Finn brought the grass blade to his hand. "Yeah, but too well. If I use it to climb, it just keeps cutting down through the rock."

"Alright, Finn, I propose an alliance."

"What? What good's that going to do?"

"Together, we can get past this. I know a way you can get us both up there, but I'm not sharing unless I can benefit as well."

Finn didn't trust him. He wanted another option than to accept. Maybe he could find another way up, maybe he could think of whatever Craw had in mind himself. But no, there was no time. He looked up at Craw. "I accept."

He nodded, then walked farther out on his splinter. "Get up here."

Finn sized up the jump, then took it. A brief second airborne, then he landed with his arms around the splinter. Industriously, he pulled himself up atop it, keeping balance. He faced at the rock face. "So what do I do?"

"Cut us foot holes. Flat bottoms, of you please."

Finn drew the grass blade, then sliced it into the rock. He moved it around, getting a feel for navigating the blade around inside the rock, then he cut the shape, starting with a flat bottom, he then moved it in a curve, making a tall arc over the flat line, starting on one end and ending on the other. This made a half-circle shape. Finished, he took the sword out. But saw that all he made were extremely thin cuts. The isolated chunk of rock was still attached in the rear. He couldn't put his hand or foot in it. He felt a hand grip his left shoulder, then, before he could react, another took his right forearm. "What the flip, Craw?" He snapped.

"Relax, Finn, I'm going to take your hand and show you how. Your sword, does it mind if I puppeteer it a bit?"

Finn looked at his sword. He frowned, then eased up just as quickly. "No, it's cool with that."

"Good." Craw moved up and took his right hand. When he did this, a sense tingled up Finn's hand, and into his brain. This sense intensified when Craw moved his hand. He angled the grass blade toward the center of the bottom line from above, then he cut a new over-arc, the same as Finn's, only this time the blade was fulcrumed on the center of the bottom line. When the arc finished, the chunk of rock dropped loose. He pried it out with the sword, and it came out with no resistance. Craw then let go of his hand, and the sense vanished. It was like being tickled, or the uncanny feeling one gets when one bends their fingernails the wrong way. Only difference was that this sense was pleasant.

"You see what I did?" Said Craw.

Finn looked at the small foot hole. It had a flat bottom, and a rounded wall that angled in and converged at the top of the hole.

"Can you make the rest?"

Finn nodded, "sure." He imitated Craw's method, successfully making another foothold. Then he brought his left hand into the higher one, and then pulled himself up, placing his right foot into the lower. Following this pattern, he reached the cliffside above. He hoisted himself onto it. On one end it spiraled up the mountain in a trail. To the immediate right was the solid stone rock face of the mountain. He sat on the ground in the corner, catching his breath. He was extremely tense the entire time he was navigating the splinters and protrusions of the mountain. Now he could finally loosen for a bit.

Craw's hand came up on the cliff, and he hoisted himself up in turn. When he got higher than the cliff, he rolled over onto it, laying on his back.

Finn looked at him, grinning, "exhausted?"

Through his panting, he replied, "Plenty of time for that jazz when I'm old." He sat up, still catching his breath, but now focusing on it, as if he wanted to get it finished faster, "three."

"What?"

He turned at Finn, and held up three fingers. "We're not even close to the end. There are three others, who have a decent chance of beating Sky Mountain."

"Dude, how do you know that?"

He laughed lightly through his heavy breathing. "Sized up everybody present before the gate opened."

"So who are they?"  
He held up one finger, "the first is your friend, Jake the Dog. He's been trying to find a way to stretch up the mountain without getting blown around by the wind. It's only a matter of time until he does."

"Who's the second?"

"The second is a fire elemental, young, but extremely powerful."

Finn suddenly felt warm in the face. And heavy in his gut. "Flame Princess."

"You know her?"

"Yeah, we used to be... well..."

Craw looked him in the eye, lifting an eyebrow. "You were close?"

"Yeah."

"What happened to split you apart?"

"I... well, I messed up, big time." He didn't know why he was telling him this. "Hey, do you really need to know this?"  
Craw nodded. "We've entered into an alliance, so we're sharing intel, that's all."

"Why do you need to know about Flame Princess?

"Because Flame Princess is here, and I have no doubt she's going to reach the treasure. Know your enemy, know yourself."

"Man, you're hardcore." Finn smiled after saying that. "I can appreciate that."

"So..?"

He mentally prepared before bringing it out. "I lied to her, and she got hurt. She ended up in a fight that didn't need to happen."

"Why did you lie to her?"

"To manipulate her, into doing something that... that..." There was no other word to describe it. He buried his face in his knees, to hide his expression, or perhaps, as part of his expression, "that entertained me. She was a prisoner most of her life. We met right after she became free. Then I lied to her for a bonus, a stinking bonus."

"I see," he got up on his feet. "You might well have been the first good thing in her life. And then you did something bad to her. That must have really hurt."

"I understand that." He stood up as well. "I have no right ever to expect her to take me back. She forgave me, and said we could still be friends. But I didn't do anything to deserve that. I hope to get the chance to make amends one day." He took a deep breath, and then exhaled. "Your turn, who's the third person that has a good chance here?"

Craw looked at him again. "You, Finn." He began walking up the trail. "Whatever happens, never lose faith in yourself."

Finn went up the trail to walk next to him. He was getting used to this guy, always serious as stone. He looked at his own right hand, remembering the sense he felt when he was being puppeteered. "Hey, Craw."

"Yes?"

"You're a really good swordsman, aren't you?"

Craw snorted. "Good enough to know how far I still have to go. You have good instincts, if you could tell that."

They were walking side by side. The trail brought them up in a wide spiral around the mountain. The ground they walked was remarkably stable and complete. It was covered in grass and summer flowers. Finn looked at him. "Can I see your face?" It was still shaded by his cowl.

"No."

"Why not? We're sharing info now, right?"

Craw shook his head, it conveyed through his cowl. "You have no use for that information."

"You're a human, aren't you?"

Craw pulled off his cowl, revealing his face. It was human, but much darker-skinned than Finn's. He had extremely thick, raven hair. It was disorganized, and evident he made a determined effort to comb it back. It reached past his shoulders. A fragmented scar started on his left eyebrow, then ended and resumed on his nose, immediately ending again to resurface on his right cheek. It looked to have been made by a single cut. He looked to be a few years older than Finn. "How the flipping crumb did you know?"

"Why else would you hide it?"

"There's plenty of secretive types."

Finn laughed. "When I went through the market yesterday, after talking to you, at least a dozen people pointed your way and asked me who you were. Concealing your face in broad daylight isn't secretive, it's the opposite."

Craw lifted a finger, his mouth held in a static, 'about to speak' position. Then he dropped it, and faced forward again. "You're right. Where I'm from, there's plenty of concealers to blend in with," he shook his head, "but not here."

"Where are you from?" He was curious. Humans were practically extinct. It was rare he met another one.

"I'm from the continent of Nugondowan."

"What's a continent?" Finn crooked his head.

Craw looked at him. "You seriously don't know what a continent is?"

"No, but I want to. Don't leave me hanging."

"Fair enough." He looked up, trying to find words. Then he inhaled, and spoke. "All of the world's biggest landmasses are sorted into continents. Each has its own name."

"What's the difference between them?"

"Do I look educated to you? Ask a smart person on the specs."

The cliffside they followed came up to a wide spot of land. In front of them, surrounding a round grass clearing in which they stood, was a forest, which imposed upon their view with its immense size. The horizon above the treeline showed a random scape of giant protrusions of rock, signifying an outer wall to the giant outer cliff it was all on. The trees were ancient. Their trunks were as wide as houses, and they were as tall as small mountains. The foliage of the trees prevented them from seeing very deep in. Finn was the first to speak. "This is really cool. It's all up on a mountain in the sky!"

"I bet these cliffs are big enough to have their own ecosystems." He scanned the area with interest, walking on, with Finn catching up. "Let's hug the main mountain. Keep your eyes peeled for a way up."

Finn nodded in agreement. "Hey, this place hasn't opened in a thousand years, right?"

"That's right." They walked toward the right side of the forest, close to the mountainside. "We're off the map of both Ooo, and Nugondowan."

"So do you think there's..."  
"Native creatures? Certainly."

Just then, Finn felt a tremor through the ground. It went through his body, and shook his guts, his wits. Then a savagely rapid succession of distinct, equally powerful tremors came, hammering ruthlessly at his calm. It was unsettling, a force of nature; a tremor, being brought to the arbitrary repetition and rapidity made possible by a life form. The foliage of the treeline began to make noises on an immense scale. Whatever it was, it was getting very close.

"Finn."

"What is it?"

"I want you to imagine all of the suffering you've had in life, all of the pain."

"What for? Is this really the time?"

"It's the only time; now, imagine your shortcomings, your ignorances. The things that let the suffering happen. To you, and to those you care for."

"Look, Craw, we should really be focusing on the-" He was cut off by the creature emerging from the forest.

It's size was unimaginable. The sight of it was not anything his mind had ever been trained to comprehend. It's mass was so enormous, it seemed to move in its own plane of time. The creature was bipedal. Two muscular legs with wide, but also tall feet supported an immense superstructure of an upper body. The body protruded forward from the legs, ending at an excessively emphasized head, which bore a giant mouth with rows of pointed teeth. Behind the legs was a tail, large enough to compensate the weight difference. It was looking straight at Finn. He felt glued to his spot on the ground. It was as if a nature he had never felt, and never knew came screaming into his world, and he found himself as part of a food chain.

He found himself as food.

He mustered up the will to speak. "What do you do, then?" He said to Craw. "With the unhappiness, and the shortcomings. What do you do about it?"

With barbaric immediacy, the creature barreled forward at terrifying speed. More consecutive tremors. It's mouth was readied to lap him up.

"I'll tell you." Said Craw. "What you do with suffering, and the shortcomings that allow it to happen."

The creature was very close. It took a majority of the his vision.

Craw produced a sound. It was the sound of drawing a sword. "You crush it all. Grind it to nothing!"

* * *

The sky was beginning to dim. Jake the Dog took a break from squirming his way up the mountain. The air was getting cold. He saw a nice cove he could rest in, safe from the wind. It had high walls along the edge, and it was too small to have any large trees. He flipped his head over its wall, then pulled the rest of himself inside. There was plenty of room inside the little cove. He could rest here.

The evening darkened, and then a bright glow appeared coming up the edge, snapping Jake out of his sleepy doze. The Light grew brighter, and then the source became visible. It was a medium sized flame, rich in its dark hue, and flaming about with a slowness and calm typical of a much smaller fire, that of a candle.

She leaped the rest of the way, landing in the cove on her feet. Jake saw her full form. The flame on top was her hair. A single gem embedded her forehead at the spot where her hair parted evenly into a pair of thick bangs. The skin on her face was a lighter flame color than her hair, yellow rather than orange, but it was still unmistakably made of fire. She wore a full-body suit of plate mail that her head and hands seemed to pop out of like a high pressure chimney. She looked down at Jake. "Hello, Jake." He was his normal size, and therefore shorter than her.

"Hey, Flame Princess."

Flame Princess looked up at the sky, then back at Jake. "Mind if I crash here tonight?"

"Sure, no problem." She was a source of heat, and the night was sizing up to be very cold. She was more than welcome.

"Thanks." She walked past Jake, to the back wall of the cove, then sat down. "So, how have you been?"

"Me? Not much is new with me."

She leaned forward. "I hear you have children. I've never met them."

"Eh, they're already adolescents."

"What? How's that make any sense?"

"Well, you see, their mother is a rainicorn. Rainicorns age really fast." He moved his hands apart to convey this.

"I'll ask again, how does that make any sense?"

"How does it not?"  
"Well, that would mean your girlfriend, who's full rainicorn, would be a fossil by now."

"Oh... yeah, that makes sense." He was nodding. "But that doesn't change the fact that they've aged really fast."

"It's already done, is it?" She scratched her chin with a finger. "Perhaps it has to do with them being magical hybrids? It's not unreasonable to think that the DNA mix of a rainicorn and a magic dog would have erratic side effects."

Jake nodded, still thinking. "Certainly better than 'because they're half rainicorn.' Less contradictions that way."

Flame Princess was quiet for a moment. "So... how's Finn?"

"Finn?" Jake knew she and him were together and broke up. Per his nature, he wanted to treat the subject with extreme deliberation. "He's dong alright. He's here, at the mountain."

She looked back up at Jake. "He's here?"

Jake nodded. "He's about as high up as us."

"Why would he come here?"

Jake chuckled. "Why else? Wanderlust. This place has opened for the first time in a thousand years. It'd be surprising if he didn't show up."

She nodded to herself, staring blankly ahead. "Yeah, that is true, isn't it?"

Jake felt like changing the subject. "So how's it been like, being the new fire king?"

Shortly after breaking up with Finn. Flame Princess returned to the Fire Kingdom, and overthrew her father, the king. Then she locked him in the same prison he had kept her throughout her entire childhood in an act of karmic justice. She now rules the Fire Kingdom, and has taken the goal of reforming it's culture by eliminating the rampant dishonesty that has been intrinsic to it. "It's been hard." She answered. "Nobody likes being told what to think, even by a monarch, and even if it's the right thing."

"I see."

She smiled. "But it isn't all setbacks. The military people like me a lot, and they're accepting my reforms without complaint. Plus my not-evil relatives have been supporting me big time."

"That sounds great, Flame Princess." He thought it over for a second. "But I don't think leaving the country is helping."

"I..."

"What brings you here?" He was genuinely curious.

She closed her eyes, and after a small period of time, opened them. "I suppose there's no point hiding it. I'm here for the Sky Mountain's treasure."

"What, are your coffers low?"

She shook her head. "The treasure isn't money, but it is priceless. It's a magical artifact."

"What's it do?"

"What it's going to do is help me solve all of my kingdom's problems. I read about this place in the Fire Kingdom's royal library. It was written that this mountain contains a crystal that can reveal someone's innermost secrets, by looking straight into their mind."

Jake hurriedly got up to his feet. "What!"

"Why are you shocked?"

"FP that's some serious mojo!"

"I need serious mojo, if my people are ever going to change."

Jake shook his head. "I don't know..."

"You don't understand my situation, Jake. Don't know what I've had to deal with." She shut her eyes. "All of my people lie to each other." She shook her head. "It's part of our culture. The nobles, the bean counters, I've learned of a lot of them lying to my face. How many more are lying to me? How many people are evil underneath all of their smiles and politeness?" She looked ahead. "With the sky crystal, I'll be able to know all of that. There will be no more secrets, no more lies."

"No more privacy."

She looked at him.

Jake had his 'real talk' face on. "People have the right to keep things to themselves, princess. Would you read someone else's diary without their okay?"

"No! Of course not. That would be rude." She shook her head. "But that's a secret kept for personal reasons that end at the self. There's no harm in that."

"You reveal someone else's biz, you're gonna find things like that. It's inevitable."

"That doesn't matter. In the real world, on serious matters, the only reason someone has to keep things hidden is if they're up to no good. If they're liars."

Jake wanted to say she sounded naive. But she was right. He didn't know what she's had to deal with. He decided to change the subject. "So what do you think is ahead of us?"

"I don't know." She looked up, her vision sliding up the almost vertical view of the mountain from where she was. "You can't see anything past the cloud line."

"Have trouble getting up here?"

She nodded. "Yeah, the winds out from the mountain are crazy strong. I learned that the hard way."

They laughed together in understanding. They both learned not to venture too far out from the mountain.

* * *

He was in a realm of beyond. His entire body felt heavy, and immersed in something thick. Something harder grabbed him by the shirt collar, and yanked him forward.

Finn could breathe again. He emerged to thin air that cooled his face as he moved through it. The hand pulled him the rest of the way. A firm, but weak pair of objects rubbed against either side of him as he was taken the rest of the way. He landed on the ground. The ground was soft with grass. He exhaled and coughed, trying frantically to get the stuff from before out of his lungs. A gust of wind blew over him. It sapped the heat from his wet body.

"I'm gonna get some firewood." Said Craw's voice. "Dry yourself up. It'll feel cold, but you need to do it. That means get your clothes off." Finn heard him walk away.

He rubbed his eyes, getting the gunk off them. Once they were opened, he saw that it was late evening. It had darkened a bit when they were going up the trail. Only a bit of time had passed. He saw the giant creature that attacked them. It was right next to him, lying on the ground, dead. There was a large incision on its belly area. He quickly realized that was where he came out of.

Another gust of wind came, sapping more heat out of him. His teeth began wanting to chatter from lacking body heat. Quickly, he took his backpack off, then his shirt. His shortpants were too small to keep his body wet. He left them on. As a next step, he lay down on the grass, and rolled around, letting his wet rub off onto the grass.

Craw came back with an armload of sticks and some dead grass. Without a word, he dropped the stuff on the ground near the belly of the dead beast; the best shelter from the wind. He turned to Finn. "Do you know how to start a fire? 'Cause I'm winging it here."

Finn got up on his feet. "Sure thing." He walked briskly over to his pack. "Get it ready." He heard Craw comply to this as he knelt over his backpack. He opened the flap, and shuffled around the contents. Once he found what he was looking for, he closed it up again. He walked over to the fire pile. Then he knelt over that. He moved his item next to the tinder pile Craw had prepared. Craw was standing over the pit, observing. Finn flicked his thumb up, opening the lid of his metal object. He then flicked his thumb down on a rugged wheel. There was a brief noise, then a flame appeared coming out of a spout next to the wheel. Finn put the flame on the tinder, igniting it. Once it was started, he shut the lid back over the mechanism. The lid easily flipped back into place. He looked to his left, and saw Craw holding out a hand at him. Finn lifted an eyebrow.

"Your device, may I see it for a moment?"

"Sure, why not?" He put it in his hand. Then went to tending the young fire.

Craw opened the lid. Then he imitated what Finn did and flicked down on the wheel. After a couple of tries, it made a flame again. He closed the lid, and opened it again, and saw that the lid suffocated the flame. Another flick, and the flame came back to life. "Interesting, I had no idea the land of Ooo had this kind of technology."

The fire was looking good. Finn looked up at him. "They have those where you're from? That Nugondowan place?"

"No." He kept examining the item. "This is like a match, only you can use it more than once."

"It's a lighter, dude."

"It's a lamp." Craw sat down next to the fire. He was pinching something inside the small flame spout. He shuffled closer to Finn, and leaned close. The he presented the lighter to him. He was pinching a bundle of semi-woven hairs inside the fire spout. "Do you see this? This is how an oil lamp rations its supply. The flammable liquid soaks up this wick, fueling the flame." He pointed at the large main body of the lighter. "This is the supply." He moved his finger to the wheel next to the wick. "And this is the igniter. You spin it, and it showers the wick with sparks." He grinned. "A brilliant idea, to miniaturize the design of an oil lamp, to produce a firestarter that can be reused, and doesn't produce any waste."

"Is this anything I need to know?"

Craw flipped the lighter shut without touching the lid directly. He offered it to Finn. Finn took it. "Where I'm from, an idea like this is worth money."

"Hey."

"Yeah?"

"How come we're alive?"

Craw paused to think about it seriously. "That... is one of life's great questions, isn't it? I mean, I like to think a person is alive, so they can effect the world, in a way that only they're capable of."

Finn looked at him, blankly. "What? No! I mean..." he indicated the dead monster right next to them. Their little camp was cozily coved in its body and extremeties. "How did this happen?"

"Oh, I see. I thought it was obvious."

"Why would it be obvious?"  
"You killed it."

"Wait, how?"

"You leaped straight into its mouth, and then you stabbed it in the brain. A small target. It fell over, and swallowed you, out of impulse I presume." He laughed through a shut mouth. "You know the rest."  
Finn looked at the lighter, turning it over in his hand. He looked at Craw. "How much money, do you think this would be worth?"

Craw leaned back, with his arms propped behind him. He made a crooked smile. "Are you really offering me a chance to talk about my homeland?"

Finn scooted closer to the fire. "I'm not making any rules here. You want to talk about your home, that's cool."

He ducked his head, with his eyes mostly shut and a wide, tight smile on his lips. "It's a place where..." He bit his lower lip, looking for words. "It's a culture, where nobody cares about anything, unless it can make their own lives better, or more enjoyable." He looked up at Finn. "What do you make of that?"

Finn shook his head. "I don't know what to make of it. What do they do? What sort of place is it to live? What sort of ruler do they have?"

Craw laughed out loud. "I like you, Finn. There's no hatred in you." He took a stick and tossed it into the fire. "Nugondowan is encompassed almost entirely by a nation called the Brimstone Empire. Its people abide by the law, and work hard at their jobs. They do their utmost to make their source of employment prosper, so that they can prosper. Their lives are very good. Compared to what it was like before the Brimstone Empire, it's like a paradise."

"So Brimstone is a good empire." Finn remarked. "The name had me fooled." He reached over to grab his shirt and backpack. He hung the shirt on the backpack, and placed them near the fire to dry.

Craw continued. "The Brimstone Empire started out as a city-state, founded, formed, and even financed by a girl named Karas Brimstone. Known today as Empress Brimstone." He stared into the fire. "I was with her from the beginning. She was wealthy beyond imagining, so I came to her, and offered my services. In the same conversation in which she employed me, she gave me my first orders: To remove the governor of the city. That was my first job working for her."

"So you had to..."

"Blow someone off, yeah. He was weak, and his guards were weak. It was easy."

"This story is getting dark. You're not exactly on the virtuous side of the spectrum, are you?"

"After killing the target, I returned to Karas' mansion, and she gave me my next assignment. That was to help defend her home from waves of hitmen sent by the governor's powerful friends." He made a smile, it showed his teeth. And his eyes were pushed wide open. "I must have killed two hundred people that night, at least."

"Good glob!" Said Finn. "That sounds really, really dark."

"You need to understand the sort of place my homeland was. Poverty and crime were rampant, and the city-states made war on each other all the time. It was not Karas who was dark, but the world she was in."

Finn settled again. "So what did you do next?"

"I was sent after the governor's friends. Every last punk who sent hitmen after Karas was on my list. I got most of them, the rest left the region."

Finn decided not to remark how morally questionable that was. "By yourself?"

"Yep, solo mission. After returning to the city, I didn't recognize the place. It was only a week after Karas took over, and the place looked completely different."

"What color was it?"

Craw looked at him, and let out a brief laugh. "The city was the same, Finn. The difference was the people. The way they walked the street. It was like everyone had someplace they needed to be. No more soldiers at every street corner, watching them. It was like they could finally come out of hiding and live. That's when it occurred to me that I might actually be working for the good guy."

"It didn't matter to you? Whether she was good or bad?"

"It still doesn't."

"Do you still work for her?"

"Yeah."

"Is that why...?"

Craw looked him in the eye. "No, not this. I'm here on my free time." He stood up, and took off his cloak, revealing a thick bundle of blades strapped behind his lower back, like a golf caddy, only swords. Each one was slightly or extremely different in terms of length, material, and shape. He took one out of the bundle, and went over to the dead beast sheltering their camp. "Let's see how this thing tastes, shall we?"


	5. (Side Chapter) Heart of the Empire

Today was truly an exceptional day. Thought Craw as he strode through the halls of the Brimstone Palace. The corridor he was in was suspended high in the air. The ceiling was supported by thick, and far between supports on the left and right walls, which left wide openings to the outside through the entire length. Through these open windows, he could see the expanse of the palace below. It was dominated by the colors of the dirt spectrum. Chimneys were scattered all throughout the superstructure that spewed black smog into the air. So wide was the palace, that he could barely see the city below from where he was. An arm spinning a titanic cog by its outer edge rose up in his view, and then cycled back down. It made the rest of the scattered components of the palace look miniscule by comparison. Wide tubes and pipes flowed throughout the palace in abundance, without order or planning. Some of them vibrated visibly or shook from sporadic pressure. The hallway in which he walked couldn't be more different. The floor was granite with a glimmering finish, and the supports for the ceiling were polished to a mirror shine. And the ceiling was comprised of expertly shaped glass panels that curved as they came to the center within a framework of thin shaped metal, welded and then ground and finished at the welds so that the entire framework supporting the glass looked like a single piece.

Today was truly an exceptional day. Thought Craw. He took a deep whiff of himself. He'd actually cleaned himself up today. And he had Gates help him find something presentable to wear.

A member of the cleaning staff crossed his way. She wore a veritable armory of cleaning utensils on her person. She looked like a commando, ready to fight a war against all uncleanliness. If their cleaning utensils weren't so conspicuous, Craw would have a hard time distinguishing them from the engineers. As they passed each other, the custodian smiled and nodded at him. He couldn't help but to return the gesture.

Craw felt amazed by what happened just then. It was the first time a civilian didn't act terrified or nervous around him. He had to hand it to Gates. When he asked for presentable, Gates delivered presentable. He had to hand it to his new suit. Anything that could make him not look like a savage beast from the lower pits of the Nitosphere deserved points in his book. When he refused to let Gates cut his hair, he proposed the compromise of braiding it. Craw refuted, saying that it would make him look effeminate. Gates replied that that was fine; effeminate meant civil. So Craw let him braid it. He looked at the mirror when the braiding was done, and concluded that it actually clashed well with his tanned, scarred face.

He reached a larger corridor that the one he followed intersected into. The Large hall was a continuous stairway, with break spots where the floor was flat for a while before continuing upward as stairs. The hall was crowded with well-dressed people who were passing through or standing together, socializing. There were foreign and colonial diplomats and dignitaries, as well as high-ranking officials and officers in the army. There was almost always some social function or another going on in the heart of the vast Brimstone Empire.

Today was truly an exceptional day. Thought Craw. He had actually decided to attend one. He had been invited to nearly all of them ever since being knighted by the empress. And the letters became more insistent ever since he was promoted to general. Gates reasoned that he could at least appear at social functions once in a while, given that it would be easy, since he was given his own quarters in the palace that he never used.

But he found functions like this insufferably boring. And lived in his own high-rise out in the city. That way all of his shady contacts could visit him without having to be searched and asked questions by the guard.

As he climbed the stairs, leading to the grand hall, he took notice of the posted guards. They were different looking. Their armor was well-polished steel with far-separated plates. Allowing them to move freely, and implying a reliance on skill. They wore helmets that revealed their faces openly, rather than the usual face-concealing helmets used by the regular army, not that it made any difference, these people could teach a sober Gates a thing or two about strictness. They carried pikes with large, exquisitely shaped heads and thick shafts that looked like they housed something. Craw recognized the weapon. When turned on, the head would heat up to a temperature that could melt through iron.

They were indifferent as he passed each one of them, posted throughout the hall. Normally, most military personnel would salute him, given his rank. But these were the empress' personal guards. They saluted nobody.

Craw smiled to himself. So she was here too. What a coincidence. He continued up the broad stairway. The stairway ended at a giant double door that was chocked open. The doorway led to a chamber large enough to feel outdoors. The ceiling was mostly glass panels that viewed the sky, and this added to the effect. The hall was alive with activity. Guests mingled, ate and drank. Servants moved gracefully and compromisingly through them, carrying trays or simply getting somewhere. There was an extremely long table in the center, but it was really more of a bench. People came and went from it freely. Guards were posted in precise arrangement along the walls lined with pillars that cast shadows over them. One had to focus to notice them. The room rang with a steady din produced by everyone's chatter.

A hoof hit Craw on the shoulder. He turned and saw Gates. "What do you want, Gates? I came to this thing. And now I probably have to talk to a bunch of loud press junkies who want to know how our most recent war went."

"Do I need a reason to talk to you, General Craw?"

"No I guess you don't need a reason to bug me. You do it anyway, mister bigshot strategist."

Gates swung an arm around his neck and pulled him along. "Well come on then! Let's get you liquored up!" Gates was a horse, yet he walked on two legs with a grace that almost seemed to defy physics. His mane came up onto his head, and was parted evenly left and right, forming a double arch hairdo. Once they got well into the hall, blended with the crowd, he leaned his mouth close to Craw's ear. "You know who wants to see you."

Craw turned at Gates' head. "How does she know I'm here?"

"She asked me. And after that she said it was important, so chop chop."

"Where?"

"The south terrace. You can't miss it, it's guarded off." Without another word, Gates walked into a different direction, toward a group of dignitaries from the colonies. They exchanged cheerful, bombastic greetings as he approached them.

Craw ignored what happened next with what Gates was doing. He made his way through the room, switching from one social cluster to the next. He spotted the south terrace. It was beyond a wide, tall arch with no door to speak of. It looked to be much larger outside than the opening that led to it. It was blocked off by a row of royal guards. They were all powerful fighters, handpicked by the empress. It would take an army to get through to that terrace with force.

"Hey! Sir Craw!" The voice came from behind. It was very enthusiastic, and also rustic.

Craw slapped his hand on his face. He recognized the voice. "Oh, my glob." He turned to face him. "What do you need, Mister Lango?"

Mr. Lango stopped near Craw, he saluted. "Colonel Lango, reporting, gen'ral!" He had extremely bad dental health, and the build of his face, and habit to constantly smile made this fact very prominent.

"Put your hand down, Lango. We're not in the field."

Lango put his hand down. But he was still smiling off his horrible teeth. "It's quite a thing you bein' here. I ain't never imagined you in nothin' a thing like this."

Craw was extremely annoyed by this man. He had to think of something to say to him. "What brings you here, Mister Lango?" Saying that made him sick to his stomach. He didn't really want to know.

"I'm here wit' the Obermayor of Yale Province. I'ma his bodyguard."

Craw remembered Yale. Conquering them was like winning a knife fight with animals that lacked imposable thumbs. That's when he met Lango. He was sent as a negotiator on account of his 'fluent speakin'.' Craw hoped to never meet him again. "So you're a Colonel now? Your Obermayor must really be scraping the bottom of the barrel." This was it, maybe insulting him would make him go away.

Lango put a finger on his cheek. He looked up with his face tilted. "Nah, I ain't not never seen him scrape no barrels..."

Craw wished he had something to bang his own head on. "If you're here as a bodyguard, maybe you should stick with him?"

"Naw, he told me he gots some important speakins to doin' what I can't be hearin'."

That made sense, thought Craw. This man's company was insufferable. "I need to be somewhere." He turned a bit, indicating he meant to leave.

"Where you's be goin?" Said Lango. He was leaning in, curious.

Craw felt like killing him on the spot. "Look, I've been summoned by the empress."

Lango immediately took his hat off. "Oh, great glob in heaven. You is a lucky soul to be getting' to talk to the majesty in person."

Don't envy me, thought Craw. A lightweight like you'd turn inside out with terror if you met her. "Yeah, so, if I make her wait, she'll remove my spine and then ram my head up my hole." It was probably true, he realized.

"Okay then, don't let me keep you, gen'ral."

Thank glob, he thought as he walked away, toward the row of guards outside the south terrace. Out of the gray boredom, and into the open flame, thought Craw as he approached one of the guards. He stopped when they were right up to each other.

"State your business." Said the guard.

"Is Karas here?"

The guard's blank, disciplined face suddenly became a hardened glare. "If you have no business here, then I politely suggest you walk away."

"I'm expected."

"Your name?"

Craw pointed at his own face. "I have a face, you prick. Use that."

"If you do not give me a name, I cannot let you pass. It's protocol." The guard kept his cool, but his face didn't change.

"Oh, okay. I'll give you a flipping name. I'm Gates Van Duke." He made a mocking bray in imitation of a horse. "The imperial strategist, now let me through."

Lying in this situation was a huge offense, and what Craw said was a blatant lie. The guard had his pike ready in what seemed like an instant.

Craw was faster, he had a flintlock pistol in his hand, aimed point-blank at the guard's face. The guard didn't move a single bit. The other guards moved immediately to surround Craw, their pikes ready to run him through. Craw kept his eyes on the guard he had at gunpoint. He grinned with enjoyment. Holding the guard in an icy deadlock of willpower. "Look, lapdog, you don't want trouble. And I don't want trouble. So let's be reasonable, okay?"

The guard held his gaze and returned it in kind. "You arrogant son of a-"

"Marcus, is that Craw?" The voice came from out on the terrace. Craw couldn't see her, but he knew it was her.

The guard at gunpoint swallowed before speaking. "...It is."

"Let him pass."

The guards surrounding Craw idled their pikes to standing stance, and Craw put away his pistol. He walked partway past the guard and then set his hand on his shoulder. "No hard feelings, Marcus?"

Marcus glared at him.

"When does your shift end?"

"At o'six hundred hours, why?"

"Okay, at o'six thirty, I'll be at the sparring fields."

Marcus' face calmed a bit, and his eyebrows rose a bit.

"We meet then, and there, and we have ourselves a nice, sportsmanlike fight. How's that sound?"

His face calmed completely. "I... I'd like that."

"It's a date!" He slapped him on the shoulder and resumed walking. Out unto the south terrace.

A short flight of stars, and he reached the terrace. It was very large, with no roof to speak of. It's width went well beyond the archway leading to it, and its length was at least a whopping twenty percent of that. There were small, elevated garden blocks with trees one could hide behind. They were arranged evenly along the terrace, all equally distant from the edge, and from the palace. There were two benches on the opposite sides of each garden block. Craw could hear the flowing of water behind him. It came from tall, waterfall-esque fountains along the wall. The view off the edge of the terrace was of the surrounding landscape. The palace was on the south end of the city, and this was the south terrace. The landscape ahead was an inside view into a wide ravine. Both its elongated inside, and upper cliffs were visible from the terrace. Night had fallen, and it all glowed from moonlight.

Craw walked along the terrace, keeping his eyes peeled. He did not know where she was. She did not speak as he looked. He'd gone to the right after he went up the steps, passing garden block after garden block. He stuck to the inner edge of the terrace, looking to the left. It was after his line of sight passed the last garden block that he saw her.

She was standing at the outer edge of the terrace. Her hands were rested evenly on the railing, and she was looking out to the distance. Craw's mind became presented with complex input every time he saw her. Even just the way she stood was something that made him want to snap out of something, anything so he could focus more on what it was. It was nothing obvious, it was subtle, yet still it was impossible to miss. It was as if she could make a single motion, in all the grace, and mastery of the physical world evident in her every action, and cause mountains to crumble and shatter beneath that motion. She looked like someone who gave orders to the entire world.

She was dressed for the party. Her otherwise mid-length hair was done into a quasi-unruly bundle held together by a single, large pin, which made her hair almost seem short. Her dress was feminized; a long skirt formed evenly by a circular equilibrium of large folds, which went down to the point of touching their oval shaped bottom rim on the floor. The upper body left her shoulders and arms bare. Yet even this did not hide the way she carried herself.

As he approached her, she turned around to face him, and he saw her eyes. They were a pair of eyes that recognized everything; every entity, every clue, every signal. Her eyes looked straight into his soul. He did not know how much she saw, but her gaze made it impossible to relax. It was not only insight that he saw behind her eyes, but a titanic rage. A will to bring destruction on all the world if it sought to compromise her being. Whether this came from embattlement or caution, he could not tell. But it didn't matter. She was in a state of being that wiped clean whatever she was in the past. Rendered any other self irrelevant. Her name was Karas Brimstone.

Her lips parted to speak: "Craw, you look civilized."

"And you look feminine." He replied as he walked over to the railing just to the left of where she stood. He turned his head to look at her again as he leaned back on the railing. "So we're both out of our comfort zones, here."

Her right hand was still on the railing. "That stunt you just pulled with my guards, it could have been avoided, easily."

"Should it have? That's the real question."

"All you had to do was say your name."

"That would have been a redundancy. He already knew my name."

"He was following my standing orders, he had to hear you say it."

"Oh, so now your guards are sheep? Is that why you prefer to see the faces of the people who protect you? So you can make sure they're obedient, compliant sheep?"

She laughed calmly as she turned the rest of the way and leaned her back against the railing. She looked over at him. "There's only a handful of people whose company I enjoy, rather than tolerate. You're one of them."

Craw felt the same way about her. He smiled crookedly. "Is that why you keep me around? You find me amusing?"

"You're a person of ability. I value that."

Craw thought for a moment, choosing and deliberating his next words. "You have many powerful warriors now, other than myself."

"But only one who's managed to surprise me, time and time again. I had a good idea of what you were capable of when I first sized you up, and yet..."

"Before the empire, when I first came to you."

"I sent you to remove someone powerful, and well guarded. You not only succeeded, but survived."

Craw enjoyed digging up pleasant memories. "Then your home was attacked. Such a beautiful home you had back then."

She began to form a grin. "And you killed hundreds of them. My people thought you were some kind of demon."

"I'm sure they were glad I was on your side."

"Do you know what they nicknamed you?"

Craw shook his head. "The only name I carry is Craw, Craw the Human. If I have a reputation, then let my name become synonymous."

"Synonymous to what? You fight like a demigod. And when I put you in command of an army, you started to fight like a mad genius. If I didn't have Gates, I'd have made you my strategist. What would your name be synonymous to, in light of all of that?"

Craw got off from leaning on the railing, and took a few steps ahead. He did not look at her. "I want to be unstoppable, to ensure no will can ever conquer mine. That's why I'll never stop learning, never stop growing." He felt her hand come on his shoulder. He did not hear her approach.

"Craw, you're reliable beyond anything I could ask for in another. All of the enemies I've sent you against, you've found a way to defeat each and every one of them."

"I had a smile on my face when I carved them up." He felt something soft, the hair of her head, push naturally on his back, just under his neck.

"Promise me, Craw. If anybody threatens me in the future. Promise me you'll smile when you carve them up as well."

Without moving his body, he turned his head to look at her. His eyes did not see her, but he was still looking at her. "You have my word, as always."

Her head came off his back, and her hand came off his shoulder. "Face me."

He obeyed. Any presumption he had on how her face would look was brushed away. There was no difference. Her eyes were still ruthlessly probing and evaluating all they beheld. Her rage was still in the edges, waiting to be provoked.

Her lips parted again. "Do you know a man by the name of Denn Mark?"

Back to business then. "It kind of rings a bell. I think I met him in Malto."

"He's here at the party. Do you know what he looks like?"

"I'm sure I'll recognize him if I see him."

"Good." She spun around, and walked back to the railing. "Kill him."

"You want me to do it right there, and ruin the evening?" He was more than used to hearing her order someone's death.

"He's a traitor to my empire, a parasite I have no use for. Once he's dead, I want you to have his body staked to the wall, between the twin staircases, in the entrance hall of my palace."

"That doesn't answer my question."

She swept her left arm to an outstretched gesture. Her head did not turn. She did not look at him. "You have your orders." The searing magma was beginning to creep into the edges of her voice.

He had learned that this was her way of saying it doesn't matter. Without another word, he turned to leave. As he walked back across the large terrace, he contemplated the task he was given. It was certainly not an occasional event when Empress Brimstone ordered that someone be killed. But he knew from extensive firsthand knowledge that she always had a good reason. As he moved along the terrace, a shadow came out of hiding.

Who it was was obvious from the distinctive silhouette. "Gates, have you been watching me?"

Gates walked alongside him. "Watching you with her majesty, to be precise."

"You seriously don't trust me?"

Gates waggled his head left and right. "I trust you completely, Craw. And so does she."

Craw sighed, shaking his head. "You don't need to be dodgy, Gates. I already know you have designs on her personal life."

Gates paused briefly as they walked together. "You know her as well as I do. She could use some happiness in her life."

"No, listen, if it were any other person, in any other position in her life making designs like this, I'd come into their home, wherever they're sleeping, and I'd cut their throat, do you understand?"

"Are you in any mindset to understand, Master Craw? You're acting childish." Gates' mouth was curved up, smiling.

Craw rubbed his hand over his face in a single, hard motion. "It's your objectivity that's in question here, Gates. I know you think of her in that scope, but the reality is that she's not your child."

"I know that, Craw. But that doesn't mean I can't understand her, and try to make her happy."

Hearing someone talk about her like this, like she's a living, feeling being gave Craw a strong sense of relief. But he had to be realistic. "She can't become soft, Gates. If she goes soft, she goes soft on the empire, all of her followers. We can't have that. She, as she is right now, would never abide that."

Gates swallowed, then spoke: "I've just one more question for you. You like to act out, but your actions prove your loyalty, and you've proven your ability many times over. My question in this: Do you value her happiness?"

"Whose happiness? That of Karas Brimstone, or that of Empress Brimstone?"

Gates considered this for a moment. "I see. I think I understand." He sagged a bit. His step began to slow.

Craw put a hand on what passed for his shoulder. Gates looked at him, and he was smiling. "Reality is going to bombard us with necessities our entire lives. That doesn't stop us from making every day exceptional. Did you have a good day today today, Gates?"

Gates' ears perked up, and he lightened in his eyes. "I suppose I did."

* * *

Craw awoke from sleeping underneath his cloak. All of his swords were on his person, and his head was resting on a huge, scaly foot with three front toes and one back. He sat up, and opened his eyes. He was outdoors, under a cloudy night sky. The smoldering remains of a fire lay near him. On the other side of the fire, he saw Finn, bundled in a sleeping bag. "One of my happier memories tonight." he muttered.

Craw took a deep breath of air. It was time to get up, and have an exceptional day.


	6. Sky Mountain 3

_When I took over the kingdom's government, establishing myself as its new king, I made it clear to everyone what my intentions and agenda were. I did this not only to present myself as decisive, and also different from the previous rulers, but also as a matter of principle; my principles._

 _In my advocation of honesty I will state those intentions here as well._

 _It is my goal that the people, all people of this kingdom, noble and commoner alike, cease to lie to one another. Cease to hide things, and hurt one another in the process. I want this kingdom to amend its ways, and become a place where nobody lives in fear of one another's secrets, nor in fear of their own coming to light._

 _I see a scenario, where a person can share their dark secrets, open their closets full of things they're ashamed of, and then feel better, and be able to move past it. I want nobody to be punished, for being won over by the truth, and the act of confessing it._

 _I see a scenario, where you can see somebody open up, sharing not only their shames, but also their passions, their dreams. And when they do this, you can see it for the rare treasure it is, and treat it as such. It is rare if anybody treads ground that has hurt them before, but few grounds hold as much promise as being free to speak one's mind._

 _I want a person who loves something, or someone to say, to them and themselves, just that; that they love them. I want a person to say to those they dislike that they don't wish to associate with them, rather than being stoic, and gradually building up resentment._

 _That is truly what I want. And that is what I announced to everyone._

 _But the bureaucracy told me that this decree would be virtually impossible to translate into objective law. My less honest cabinet members were supportive and encouraging, while offering nothing on a way to implement it. My more honest ministers called me an impractical idealist._

 _One of them suggested I simply outlaw the act of lying. When he suggested this to me, I asked him if he was serious. When he said that he was serious, I disregarded his entire case. I may be young, but even I know that something like that, as a law, would be subject to the subjective discretion of each isolated representative of the law. It would grant officials, and law enforcement, the power to punish anybody they pleased if they saw fit that the person had 'lied'. How do you prove something like that in court? You can't._

 _I realize my position. I know, that deep down, everybody disagrees with me._

 _I know that it's me against the entire world._

 _But I'm still going to do it. I'm still going to impose my will upon all the kingdom._

 _Those who openly, but peacefully disagree with me, but still lend their support are my retainers. Those who disagree with me for practical reasons are my subjects. Those who disagree with me for fundamental reasons are my enemies. That is how I will defeat dishonesty._

 _I will defeat it with definition, with clarity._

-Flame Princess

* * *

Jake and Flame Princess had just awoken in the small cove. The sky around the mountain was just beginning to brighten with dawn. They nodded at each other. They had just discussed, and agreed on a plan to expedite their ascent. Jake stretched up, and widened himself, morphing his body into a thin blanket. He threw his shape over Flame Princess, and sealed up the bottom area. He morphed a floor beneath her to stand on. Once he had her sealed inside himself, her presence heated the air trapped inside. Jake began to feel lift, but it wasn't enough. He broadened his balloon area more, opening a small hole to let more air in. His body became thinner, and possessing more volume. Once he was satisfied, he closed his hole and waited.

The furnace inside him warmed up, then it became hot. The he began to lift. The hot air inside him giving him lift. Once he gained altitude, the wind slammed into him like a hammer. It didn't matter though, they were going up, they could worry about horizontal allocation once they passed the cloud line.

* * *

"So, do you think the gate might close behind us?" Finn leaped the small gap after Craw. The trail was a random, rugged obstacle course of drops and weak areas.

"I'm sure we have plenty of time." Replied Craw from behind the corner.

Finn rounded the corner and saw a very tall, vertical rise just ahead of them. Without speaking, he ran ahead and got next to the wall. He turned around and put out his hands in a knit. Craw ran at him, and hopped a foot onto Finn's hands. Finn boosted him up as he jumped. He looked up, and saw Craw pull himself up on top of the cliff from a hanging grip. Once on top, Craw took his cloak and rolled it into a thick line. He hung it off the edge, and Finn grabbed it.

Craw pulled him up. Finn got a grip on the ledge and hoisted himself up. Craw turned and continued walking, wrapping his cloak back around his forearm. "At this rate, we should be at the summit very soon"

Finn got back in pace, and they walked at each others sides. "What are you going to do after this?" The trail took a stable spiral up.

"Me? Well, tomorrow, Gates and I are going to see the princess of the Candy Kingdom, as ambassadors of the Brimstone Empire."

"What for?"

"It's a first contact scenario. The two countries have never met before."

Finn thought as they walked up the trail. "You come from across the ocean, right?"

"That's right."

"How?"

"You're asking how?"

"Yeah, how? Jake said it's impossible to go past a certain point in the ocean. He says there's this thing called the Spine, that goes up the whole thing, and that you can't possibly get a ship through."

"That is correct, Finn. The Spine is a wall that divides the ocean in half. It's made of giant stone plates in a consistent formation. Even getting a rowboat through is impossible."

"So how?"

"Quite simple. An enterprising engineer got the bright idea to drill a giant hole through one of the plates. I think her name was Cole, a handle playing on the word coal. Anyway, she pitched the idea to a bunch of companies that might be interested in getting ships through the spine, and eventually, one of them financed the idea."

"What was the idea?"

"She got a bore drill, the kind that punches enormous shafts through the ground, and modified it to drill horizontally. Then she set it up on the biggest barge she could find. The materials and setup of this makeshift drilling ship cost about thirty five thousand plates."

"Is... that a lot?"

"Oh yeah. And after that, she still had to drill the hole. That was the risky part. The drill head had to be constantly adjusted up and down so the barge and drill could advance together. The spine plates are hundreds of meters thick. And they had to drill through the middle of one, where it was thickest, so the tunnel wouldn't collapse. Not only that but the team on the drill had to operate in tandem with a powered boat to push the drilling barge into the rock face as it dug through. I think they used string cans to communicate."

"Did it work?"

"It did. The tunnel is thirty meters wide, and fourty five meters tall, The tide determines how much of that goes below sea level. It's large enough for small and medium models of merchant vessels, fishing ships, and you guessed it, expeditions."

"And what about the engineer who had the idea?"

"Cole was paid ten thousand plates per the contract. The company kept the drilling barge she designed. She has her own workshop now. A freelance research and development firm that builds tons of prototypes and outsources proven designs to machine companies across the continent. For Cole, it's a dream job. She called it 'an endless stream of free art.'"

"Wait, you talked to her in person?"

"Yeah, we met at a convention."

Finn put a finger and thumb on his chin. "Is money important where you're from?"

"Very, very important."

"That engineer, Cole, would she have been able to set up a workshop without it?"

"Definitely not."

"...Why not?"

Craw looked at him. "Are you serious?"

"Yes! I really don't get why that is."

Craw pinched his forehead, looking for words. "Well, because to set up a workshop, you need things. You need a building, and you need a lot of tools, this isn't even mentioning materials. You also need a source of energy to power your machines. A big yard to test out prototypes away from the rest of your stuff couldn't hurt either."

"And all of those things cost money?"

Craw looked at him. "All of those things are values. Buildings, tools, materials, even energy, are all things that already have owners on every account. There are no values with no owners waiting to be claimed. See, people have to work to produce these things, and they're not going to do that just so they can give it away. When someone puts time and energy into making something, whether its money, or food, or iron ore, they do it so they can own it. They'll only relinquish it if it's as a trade for something else they want. Money makes that system of trading more efficient, and there you have economics one-oh-one."

"you know," said Finn. "I think that's because your continent doesn't have much, so everyone has to make the things they need."

"As opposed to... what? Digging nice things out of the ground, ready to be used?"

"Yeah, of course!" Finn was nodding.

"You can seriously do that in Ooo?"

"Can you not do it in Nugondowan?"

Craw shook his head. "Nugondowan is a prosperous place, but everything it has now had to be created. It used to suck there, big time."

Their altitude on the mountain rendered visible a wide scope below. The clouds concealing the sky and surroundings of the mountain were revealed to be surrounding the mountain in an egg shape. A patchwork screen of clouds whose three-dimensional shape was revealed by their new perspective. Finn looked up, and saw that the disc shaped cloud on top was now right up close to them. They were nearly to the summit. "Craw, you seem really worldly, the way you talk and all the stuff you know."

"That's because I've already got one significant journey behind me, complete with struggles, triumphs, and moments of truth. I'm on my second now."

"What do you think we're going to find on the summit?"

"I'm guessing some really strong monsters. You?"

"Well, I'm kinda hoping to find some cuckoo clocks."

"Cuckoo clocks."

"Yeah."

"Why cuckoo clocks?" Craw said flatly and quickly.

"Because me and Jake are working on a cuckoo wall. I hope he's keeping his eyes peeled for any."

Craw looked at Finn, then ahead, then at Finn again. "A cuckoo wall, seriously."

"Yeah, don't you think that would be awesome? Seeing them all go off at once?"

Craw raised his voice. "It doesn't occur to you that maybe there are better things to do with your time?"

"Whoa, where's this coming from?"

Craw held himself, and then looked ahead, slightly downward. "Forgive me, that was uncalled for." He took a deep breath. "I'm here as an ambassador, I should be open to other cultures." He held a hand under his view, curling and uncurling the fingers. "I can't relate to the cuckoo clock thing. That's a civil response, right?"

"Is your ruler open to other cultures?"

Craw shook his head. "No, not in the slightest. But," he looked at Finn. "Try not to think of her as a xenophobe, or a warmongering tyrant. She hates other cultures because other cultures in Nugondowan treated their people like dirt. Before Brimstone, most of the continent was mud huts, violence and starvation." The trail widened, and began to get steeper. They passed the top cloud, and the area beyond became visible. The trail broke off from the main mountain, spiraling outward toward the edge of a now visible rock ceiling.

"I see," said Finn. "That kind of sounds like PB."

"PB? You mean Princess Bubblegum?"

"Yeah, did you know that she created the Candy Kingdom?"

"I did not. I imagined she was just put there by the real creator; some kind of visionary scientist with really weird taste."

"She sort of is."

"And now I suddenly look forward to meeting her. How do you think she's similar to Empress Brimstone?"

"Because when she first started building the Candy Kingdom, the rest of Ooo looked really violent and chaotic. There were tribes and gangs that fought each other."

"So once her roots were in, did she conquer them? They'd practically be twin sisters if that were the case."

Finn shook his head. "I don't think that's how she handled it. But I do think she's responsible for Ooo being so peaceful." They had entered the top cloud. It was like walking into a sudden fog. They could still see the path clearly enough.

"You said it 'looked' a certain way. Were you there when it happened?"

"It was visions from a past life. I used to be a mercenary girl with one arm."

Craw began to show signs of cracking up with laughter, he had to keep his mouth shut to keep from making a weird noise. "It sounds like you've had your share of adventures."

"Dude, you have no idea." The fog cleared, and they left the cloud behind as they continued to ascend.

"Were you traumatized at some point? I've been trying to think of a rational explanation of why you wear that white hat and those shortpants."

"I'm complicated, okay?"

They both broke out into laughter. As they walked the outward spiraling path, the cloud beneath them swirled gently, like a disc. It covered everything now beneath them. The trail was a solid piece of ground that bridged a large distance to the edge of a wide stone ceiling. Against basic physics, it showed no sign of breaking. Their horizontal view was taken by flowing, visible winds that projected graceful indecision between white and grey.

* * *

Root Beer Guy was in his office when one of his people came in. He was a task buffer. He gestured him to shut the door.

He did.

"Alright, then, is it all set up?"

"Yeah, we've gone through everything on your list."

He had made a long list of things the foreigners might try to pull if they had an audience with the princess. He put countermeasures in place for all of them. "What about the horse? Has he left the tavern?"

"Not once. Is he really such a threat?"

Root Beer Guy wanted to think he wasn't. The horse's drunkenness last night supported such a claim. But there was something about him he couldn't shake off. He didn't leave the tavern once. That implied well enough he was turtling his stay in the city; being antisocial. But if that were the case, he would set foot outside at least once for one reason or another, even if briefly. To take a dip, or wander out of boredom or something. His theory that the horse was just breeding a guise of harmlessness was being supported in equal measure. "I don't know." He said to the scout. "But watch his every move, nonetheless."

"You got it, captain." He left out the door, shutting it behind him.

Root Beer Guy went back to paperwork. His mind began to wonder. "Are you playing me, horse?" He stopped working, and shut his eyes. "You might be tricky as can be, horse, but I'm gonna win this. There's only so much you can do inside the woodwork. And when you show your colors, I'm gonna bring you in."

* * *

Flame Princess was in a pit in the bottom of the Jake balloon. He told her all he needed on her end was to 'be natural.' He explained that if she heated up to boost it more, it might burn him. She frequently saw the top of Jake's balloon body open up to release a bit of heat. Other than that, she couldn't see anything through Jake, but she definitely felt the movement of flying, and getting blown around by the wind.

Bored, she sat down. Her mind began to drift. "Soon, very soon I'll have the Sky Crystal." She mumbled to herself. "And then, no more lies." An unpleasant memory found its way to her attention. The corrupt earl of the Spout Poles. A case had been brought to her attention that claimed he was corrupt, that he made dealings with criminals and ran illegal hound fighting matches. The intelligence wasn't solid, though, and it was possible he was innocent. She decided to speak with him personally, so she called him to an audience, and asked him about it. He claimed to be innocent, and seemed to be telling the truth. She believed him, assuming nobody would lie to her in good conscious if she trusted them. In the days that followed, she kept an eye on that case, and noticed that more and more circumstantial evidence started coming in that pointed to the earl of the Spout Poles. A lot of her own retainers had a look at the case and believed that he was guilty without a doubt. But even with that she gave him the benefit of the doubt. None of the evidence was conclusive, and she imagined, vividly, a scenario in which the one was ganged up by the many, where they're innocent, but punished nonetheless because of bad luck, and nobody being on their side. It was her responsibility as king to persecute the nobility if they broke the law. But that responsibility was outweighed by her fear of convicting an innocent. She put off taking action against the earl of the Spout Poles.

A few days passed, and a small flame child appeared in the court, and she had with her a wounded flame hound pup. She claimed she rescued it from a hound fighting operation run by the earl of the Spout Poles. She told the story, claiming that she personally witnessed his involvement. Flame princess thanked the child for bringing it to her attention, and departed immediately for the Spout Poles. She came into the earl's castle and confronted him on it. He claimed to be innocent. She told him that she would not punish him harshly if he confessed, and still he plead innocent. Unbeknownst to the earl, however, was that Flame Princess had her entourage search his castle and the surrounding area while she talked to him. They marched into the audience hall, carrying with them documents and fingerprinted coin that proved the earl's involvement beyond any doubt. Even after all of this, and reaching the end of her patience, she gave him one last chance to confess.

He did not. He instead tried to make up a story about how all of that stuff ended up where it did, and how he was still not guilty. Flame Princess flew into a rage and beat him up. As she kept hitting him and hitting him, he laughed. She hit him harder, and he laughed harder. He was looking at her when she beat him. He knew he had her attention, and she couldn't take it away. She still remembered the infuriating look on his face. His entire world in that moment was comprised of her, like a leech or a tick to its host. It was the ugliest thing she had ever witnessed in another person. The only thing that angered her more was the way she handled it. She wanted to be high-minded. She wanted to win everyone over with honesty and trust. But when that didn't work, she resorted to raw emotion.

Not that it ended badly. The earl of the Spout Poles was now in prison, and his hound fighting operation shut down. A lot of his criminal contacts were also exposed by documents found in his castle. And her misconduct was only witnessed by some of her own staff.

"But it doesn't fix the source." She said to herself. As long as they were able to get away with it, her people would lie to her, and to each other. That's why, that's why she needed the Sky Crystal, an artifact that saw through all cover, all deception, all privacy. The artifact had liabilities, to be sure, but her kingdom needed it, and she wouldn't let anybody stand in her way.

* * *

Gates was sitting in a corner seat of the tavern, enjoying a bowl of carrots when he was brought in. The candy person was being taken into the building by two thugs. They both had their arms around the guy, and secretly had concealed shivs pointing into his body. They walked with a swagger, as if the guy they were practically manhandling was their buddy. They walked him over to Gates' corner table and sat him down on the other chair, still holding him tight. Gates sized up the candy person. He was a big piece of candy corn, and he looked scared. That's where the detail ended. "So, what may I call you, mister..?"

"C-Corny."

"Mister Corny it is, then. I just need you to answer a few questions. Truthfully, mind." He plopped another carrot into his mouth. "Let's start with your name."

"Mister... uh, Corny, sir?"

Gates gestured to one of the thugs holding him, and he punched him in the face. "The truth, Mister Corny. What is your name?"

The piece of candy corn looked at the thugs, mulled for a moment, then caved. "My real name is Shelly Maxim."

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it? Now, what is your occupation?"

Shelly Maxim looked down, then was perked up by the concealed shivs at his sides pressing harder. "I'm an undercover cop." The shivs let up.

"You see, Mister Maxim? Telling the truth isn't so hard, isn't it?" He crunched on a carrot on his plate.

"If we're telling truths now, you just signed your own arrest warrant, horse." Shelly Maxim revealed his true face, he was looking at Gates defiantly. "Your little thugs aren't going to help you against every cop in the kingdom."

"Aha!" Exclaimed Gates. "So that's my opponents plan, is it? Provoke me into something like this, then use it as grounds to arrest me." He started to huff with his big horse lungs. "I have all I need from you." He motioned to his hired thugs. "Get him out of here." The thugs complied, taking him out the back door.

Gates sat at the table, and finished his plate of carrots. One of the things he had brought with him from Nugondowan was a huge amount of money. Enough to hire an army of mercs and thugs, and enough to buy the silence of the tavern's clientele, as well as the cooperation of its staff. He had an army, and he had a stronghold. Now all he needed was an ace in the hole. "Craw, you'd better be here by tomorrow. I'm tired of handling the dirty work while you play all day."

* * *

"Maybe play with it a bit more?" Said Craw to Finn. They were standing in front of a huge door. The door was made of stone possessing a slightly shiny texture. It towered over them, at least as big as the first gate leading to Sky Mountain. Behind them lay a grass plain that went down, then rose immediately and ended abruptly at a sheer edge. This shape circumvented all around the large uprising of stone the door was on, forming a bowl shape. They were on top of what was the ceiling of the mountain.

Finn was playing with some funny shaped indents and symbols engraved on the door. Some of them could be moved and shifted. "Maybe... break it?" He heard Craw draw a sword and step toward the door. Knowing what was about to happen, he back-stepped out of the way. Craw went up to the door, sword in hand. What Finn saw next happened in a flash. One frame, and he had the sword in a swinging position, the next he was stepping forward with one foot in tandem with the swing, and then the strike. The sword's blade broke off on impact, spinning and flying behind him. It let out a deafening metallic ring. Craw stood back up to normal posture and looked at his hilt, along with what little of the blade remained. "Crap," he snapped. He looked at Finn. "Your grass blade, perhaps?"

Finn brought the grass blade to his hand, and hit the door with it. The blade bent like grass. It didn't even scratch the door. Finn took the blade off the door, and it regained its proper shape. "I guess it's the puzzles, then."

"The puzzles don't make any sense, Finn."

"Maybe it has to do with these weird letters engraved on the door." He got up close, examining them thoroughly.

Craw knew he would get bored with it in only a minute. He looked back at the rim of the giant stone bowl, and then spotted a yellow blip getting blown around in the sky. "Hey, Finn."

"What is it?"

"Your friend, Jake is coming here." He heard Finn walk out of the short stone cubby the door was housed in and stop next to him.

"He's flying! Ha, he's turned into a balloon."

"Yeah, I see that. The question is, how is he keeping the air inside him hot?"

They looked at each other, and spoke simultaneously: "Flame Princess."

"Well, Finn, you get to talk to your ex." Craw walked back to the door. "You're on your own."

"Weasel," called Finn after him.

Craw looked back, smiling.

The Jake balloon landed in the bowl, then morphed back into Jake. He and Flame Princess walked to the door. Finn watched them as they approached. Nearing the door, Flame Princess bent over and picked something up. It was the broken off blade of Craw's sword. She resumed heading to the door.

They reached Finn, and Jake came over to him. "You reached the top before us! That's crazy, dude. Did you even sleep?"

Finn scratched behind his head. "A little."

"Who is that?" Said Flame Princess, pointing at Craw, whose back was turned facing the huge door.

"That's Craw." Said Finn. "He cut me out of a sauropod's stomach."

"And what were you doing in a sauropod's stomach?" Said Jake.

As Finn and Jake caught up, Flame Princess approached Craw, who was seemingly ignoring it all and focusing on the door. She walked closer, holding the broken off blade. "Excuse me, Craw, is it?"

He turned his head to look her way. "Yes?"

She inhaled a little harder than normal. "You're a water elemental, like Finn!"

He chuckled briefly. "Oh joy! And you're a flame princess. Nice to meet you, Flame Princess." He looked back at the door. "Water elemental, that's really insightful, actually."

Flame Princess knew of a lot of things people subtly did that gave away certain traits. She decided to roust this one. "You're shy, aren't you?"

"Nope, just focused. You wouldn't happen to know what this door is made out of, would you? Perhaps you might be able to melt it."

She crossed her arms, smiling. "Maybe you could seep through the cracks."

He burst out laughing. "Alright," he turned around fully. "Ice broken, I'll talk to you."

She held up the broken off blade. "Is this yours?"

He nodded, holding out the hilt. "I have no use for it now. If I had it repaired, it would be even more brittle."

"But," she looked at the broken blade. "How do you think it feels, being abandoned? If you can't use it, you could at least pass it off to someone else, so it won't be lonely."

Craw shook his head. "It's a hunk of metal, a tool, it has no soul."

She glared, extending her hand. "Hand me the hilt."

He passed her the hilt, she caught it naturally. Then she proceeded to hold the broken pieces together. She slid her hand on the blade down to the crack, and squeezed, the pieces melted together, and she let go. Once it cooled a bit, she touched it up, smoothing it out and fixing the flattened part of the edge where it struck the door. Once she was finished, satisfied with the repair job, she swung it through the air as a test. She looked Craw in the eye. "I'll take it in. It's not my place to tell you what to believe, but you've already thrown the sword away."

Craw reached behind his back, and pulled the empty scabbard out of his caddy. "Of course, It's all yours." He walked up, and presented it to her. She took it, and his hand remained gripping it. "You understand when you don't understand something, and temper yourself as a result." He let go of the scabbard. "If you keep that trait, and build on it, you might be worthy of the Sky Crystal."

She put the sword in its scabbard, and held it naturally at her side. "You know about it?"

He nodded. "In my home country, I read this book, the story of King Rudy. I thought it was just a story, but then I heard of Sky Mountain here in Ooo. That's the place the crystal was sealed away at the end of the book. I came here to see if it exists, and destroy it if it does."

"I can't allow that." Said Flame Princess. "My kingdom needs that crystal."

"Why?"

"It's a place of dishonesty and mistrust. People stabbing each other in the back. But with the Sky Crystal, I can change that."

"How?"

She paused, "what do you mean?"

"I mean, let's say you have the Sky Crystal, and therefore the power to reveal somebody's secrets, what would you do with that power? Specifically, I mean."

"I can use it to know if someone's lying to me."

"But who would you use it on? Everyone? Or just people you don't feel like you can trust?"

"On people who seem suspicious. People who have circumstantial evidence surrounding them. I don't intend to have it completely replace the law system."

"So on hazy cases, the crystal can confirm their guilt or innocence beyond a reasonable doubt."

"Yes, exactly!"

He snapped a finger. "Then you'll find yourself trusting those proven innocent by the crystal, more than those close to you, who haven't been tested by it."

"No, I won't. I can hold both forms of trust in my heart."

Craw began Pacing. "Do you know what happened to King Rudy, in the story I read? He had the Sky Crystal, and he sought to use it to make his kingdom a better place, just like you."

"It doesn't matter. Even if I'm in the same situation as him, he's not me."

"That's a good attitude, but that doesn't make you an exception."

"What happened to him, then?"

"He fell into using the crystal more and more, until he couldn't stand the company of anyone he hadn't used it on. He became reliant on it. The truths it showed him became his entire universe. And why wouldn't it? It was far more reliable than dusty old statistical judgment." Craw stopped pacing and faced her. "His friends, his family, even the woman he loved, they all began to hate him. They all felt violated by his crystal, because it tarnished and compromised the things they held sacred in their own hearts. People don't understand each other. Even close friends, even people in love with each other learn more about one another as time goes by. The crystal would skip all that. You'll see the worst in everyone, and you might not understand the best in them, even if it's in your sights, as good qualities are much harder to notice than bad."

Flame Princess was deep in thought. She did not say anything.

Craw continued. "He used it on them again as time went by, to check up on things that changed inside them. Do you see, princess? He checked up on them." His face became a sickened smile. "Checked up on their very souls like it was a gob-damned accounting sheet!"

She shook her head. "I won't misuse it like he did." She rebutted. "I'm better than that."

"After it all, after everyone he cared about left him, he turned the crystal on himself. When he did this, he saw nothing. There was nothing left to see. He had become so absorbed in other people's souls that his own had slowly died away."

Finn and Jake were standing at her sides, listening to the story. She met his gaze in a deadlock. "Everyone is different, it's no guarantee that it'll end the same way with me."

"But why bear the burden? Why put yourself on the line for those people?"

She shut her eyes, "Because they need me."

"And that entitles them to you, does it!" He suddenly shouted in anger. "Do they deserve to be cured of their problems if it's done by your divine intervention? A right to exist given to them by someone greater?"

"It's not your place to tell me what to do with my life." She remained calm. "I'm a monarch, now. I have people who need me."

Finn looked away. That was exactly what Princess Bubblegum said to him once: 'I have people who need me.' He heard a pair of blades slip free of their scabbards.

Craw had two swords in his hands. "Fine, then. You choose to be a monarch? I'll show you how unfair the world is to monarchs."

She heated up. "The world can rush me with a torrent of deadly water, I'll still win my battles and get my way."

"Prove it!" he walked at her. The space between him and her began to blur, as did the space he left behind as he walked.

The next instant, his sword was through her armor in an uppercut already dealt. The blow shot her into the air, out to the field.

That was over the limit. Finn drew his grass blade and Jake rapidly increased his mass. The trail of blurred space forked to them both. Another instant, and Craw was right up to Jake. He slammed him in the skull with the flat edge of a blade, incapacitating him. Less then an instant, simultaneous to being next to Jake, he was point-blank to Finn. He caught his grass blade by the hand. He leaned in. "I've already left an entire journey behind me, Finn. But don't worry, I'd never kill someone like her." He looked off to his right as the daylight began to be overwhelmed by a radiant orange. "I don't even know if I'll win." He hit Finn in the gut, knocking him out.


	7. Perpendicularity

_There are many who call me evil. I've seen and heard people, from personal conversations to entire masses curse my name and denounce me. I understand where they're coming from. My actions certainly merit such reactions._

 _That I've done these things in another's name means nothing. I am a human being, responsible for all of my decisions._

 _Many of the things I have done are atrocious, all in the name of a cause which claims that the ends justify the means. My life could easily be seen as a neverending chain of battles, fire and suffering. Perhaps I am a hypocrite, a sanctioned murderer. An extremist who ought to just quiet down._

 _But I see other people._

 _I see how incapable they are of fixing their situation. How little control they have over their destinies, and all the suffering they endure because of it. I see the malefactors who lord over them, not giving a whit about their well-being._

 _My master has the power to change everything, the power to move the world._

 _Nobody else has such a capacity._

 _I've seen countless soup lines that feed people. Hordes of congregations that bring them comfort. There are plenty of saints who can bend over to help those beneath them._

 _But only one, in all the world, who looks up rather than down. Only one with the power to bring change, true change. She is the ultimate good on this earth. There's not a doubt on my mind._

 _There is only one evil in this world, that evil is life's capacity for insignificance._

 _They believe she is wrong. I will believe, in equal measure, that she is right._

 _They will suppress her with their power. I will bring them the destruction they crave._

 _They can denounce and vilify her. I will say nothing, do nothing to them, for such people are nothing but talk._

 _I will take all the powers, all the influences, all of the things of borrowed worth on this earth, and crush them all to nothing. I stand, as myself, and in all the things I've done._

 _She is god, and I, her enforcer._

-Craw, the Nugondo Human

* * *

 **The past**

Karas Brimstone saw the audience hall from a symmetrical perspective. It was wide, with a high ceiling. The structure was formerly the residence of the governor of the city, it was now the seat of government for the newly formed city state of Brimstone. She was standing in front of the throne on an elevated platform, with the chair at her back. To her right was Gates Van Duke, formerly her right hand horse, now the newly appointed strategist. The hall was flanked left and right by two rows soldiers holding bolt-action rifles with bayonets. They were formerly operatives of her private army, now soldiers of the nation of Brimstone. There were others in the hall. News of a revolutionary organizer knighting a seasoned killer was practically unheard of, so many people were curious.

Gates spoke to her: "You're going to knight Craw? Have you ever knighted someone before?"

She looked at Gates. "Craw was instrumental in forming this new city state. It's only proper."

Gates shook his head, smiling awkwardly. "I just can't imagine it. You, knighting someone, as if you're a queen or something."

She looked ahead. "Nobody is going to be certain of Brimstone as a sovereign nation, unless I dive into it first." She looked back at Gates. "I know it's going to be hard. I'm betting that I can can unify an entire continent from the hands of ruthless warlords and powerful conglomerates."

Gates nodded. "I'm betting everything I have in favor of you. We all are."

She nodded, looking ahead again. "And I'll need it. I'll need all the ability I can get, especially once we start to expand."  
"In that case, I'll see about making some calls after the ceremony."

"Good. And remember, all I care about is ability. That's a mentality I wish to instill into all of my followers. I don't care for irrelevant crap like race or genes or religious occupation."

Gates made a slow, deep throated laugh. "You don't need to say that to me, Karas. I know you well enough."

Her mouth curved up, slightly. "You're right." She saw Craw enter the audience hall. There was no front wall to the chamber. It was open air, an entry as wide as the walls and ceiling, reached immediately following an outdoor staircase. Craw looked extremely informal. He was covered with dirt, and his black leather armor had visible blood stains. He wore a ragged cloak covered with holes and tears. The only thing on him that looked presentable were his swords, they were extremely well kept.

He walked along the middle carpet of the hall, tracking dirt on it. Then he stopped at the foot of the staircase, looking up at her. He said nothing.

"Craw the Human." Said Karas Brimstone, deciding not to be petty. "In light of your meritous efforts, which were instrumental to the foundation of-" She stopped, realizing that she was mincing words. Her open recollection of what he did was vague, embellished. To the Nitosphere with faking reality, she thought. She would speak the whole truth. "Craw the Human. Your successes are to be brought to light here today. You murdered that corrupt simpleton, the governor of this city, and then protected me, and my home from the blowback. You then proceeded to systematically assassinate all of those who tried to commit the heinous, pathetic act of avenging him. For this, you have my gratitude."

"What's your point?" Said Craw in a hard tone.

She clenched her teeth. He was purposely trying to piss her off. "As you probably know, this city, and the surrounding lands are now an independent state. I've called you here today to offer you a knighthood for your exemplary performance, and more importantly, long-term employment as my retainer."

"So you're playing ruler now, huh?" He had one arm on his hip, he was smiling up at her, the way one smiled a small, cute animal.

She wanted to go down there and cut his arrogant little face open, but no, that would be misconduct. Gates had advised her many times that misconduct would lead people around her to doubt her objectivity. "Yes, Craw, I'm playing ruler."

"You're looking to take over the world, take it away from the shallow fools who have it right now."

That was precisely her goal. She hadn't discussed it with anyone yet except Gates, and there was no way Gates could have told him, he was with her the entire time after she told him about it, helping her establish the city's new government. This was the trait about Craw that always gave her pause; he was intelligent, maybe even brilliant. "Do you accept my offer?"

"Why are you doing it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you looking to take over the world?"

This was actually a very fair question from someone considering to become her retainer. "Because most of the world is a terrible place. This is the only way to change that. I'm going to remove from power all of the warmongering brutes who control our world. There will be no progress as long as they're in charge."

"And with you ruling it, the world may well become a better place."

"Yes, that's right, you understand. So will you join me?"

"Why would you do it?"

She felt confused by this. "What kind of question is that?"

"Do they deserve you? Your help, your divine intervention? I've met a lot of people in my travels, and most of them are terrible."

"Most of them are victims."

"A terrible person who's been victimized is still a terrible person. What I object to, is that you would make it your dream to help them out of their crappy situation." He gestured with an outstretched hand. "I admire you, Karas, you're an exemplary person, a light in an otherwise dark world. And now you say you're going to subject yourself to a bunch of worms. Worms who wouldn't lift a finger to help themselves even if given a golden opportunity." He pointed at her. "You try to help them, and they'll bite your hand, they'll drag you down."

"But that's where you're wrong, Craw. The world doesn't belong to people like that, and it never will." She walked to the edge, on the top step. "I'm not a saint, not an idealist, nor a philanthopist. When I conquer the world, it will belong to me, obey me. And I will have it prosper and progress." She drew her sword, and sliced it through the air. "Everyone!" She called through the hall. "Hear these words." She surveyed everyone in the hall, gaining their complete attention.

"An empire that dominates the world is more than just a political power that holds dominion over all peoples." She surveyed everyone in the hall. "An empire that dominates the world must dominate all aspects of the world, or else it does not dominate any. It must dominate its mountains, be able to crush them into soil, not just slither over the earth and throw a bunch of rocks together. It must dominate fallow fields by moving boulders and mass amounts of water. It must dominate floods, fires and earthquakes. It must dominate all of nature. It must dominate the very oceans. It must dominate carnivorous hordes, and ensure such things are never again allowed to exist. But most of all." She paused, letting it sink in. "Most of all, an empire that dominates the world must dominate itself. It must discipline itself, chain itself, subject itself to all of the same laws its citizens are subject to. It must rule not with the power of force, but that of truth, and break its chains only after it no longer needs them." She looked down at Craw. "I will ask one more time, Craw. Will you join me?"

"You think you can accomplish this? Everything you just said? Do you truly think you can control the destiny of an entire world?"

"No question about it."

"Then prove it!" He was grinning like a madman. He had two swords out, and began walking up the steps toward her. The space between him and her began to blur.

She had seen him use this technique before, and deduced its weakness quickly. It was impossibly fast, but had a long telegraph of its coming. She held her sword to her lower left, in a position to make an upward, diagonal stroke. Timing her swing, she took it just before he appeared right in front of her, and the blow connected. It made a deep cut across his face. The next second, while he was disoriented, she kicked him in the gut. The blow sent him flying over a short distance, and he went tumbling down the steps. He landed at the bottom, and then got up on his knees, holding his face in one hand, and his gut in the other. He breathed unevenly, out of difficulty.

The guards were on him now. They quickly formed a circle around him and aimed their rifles point blank at his person. One of them looked her way, and she made a hand signal, calling them off. They lifted their rifles and stepped away.

She hung her free hand down and took a handkerchief out of her pocket. She used it to wipe the blood off her sword. Then she tossed the handkerchief down the steps, and it floated gracefully down. "I dub thee, Sir Craw. You may rise."

Craw complied, he got up on his feet with his hands still on the injured spots. There were three open wounds on his face, all perfectly aligned.

"You will obey any order I give you without reservation. Questions I welcome, within reason, but you will defer to my every final decision. You will place the well-being of the Brimstone nation over your own, no matter the circumstances or the excuse. What say you?"

Craw took his hand off his face. The cuts poured out freely, one of them was above an eye, and he had to close it. He looked up at her again. "You have my word."

"Good, go see a physician. Now."

He went without another word, exiting the hall.

She turned around, walking back to her throne. She looked at Gates, expecting him to say something.

Gates read the signal. "There's blood all over the carpet."

She chuckled as she turned back around next to the chair. "I'll have it all dyed the same color."

"It didn't have to be his face."

"I let him live."

"This amazes me. You've shown far less mercy to those who've come at you, sword drawn. Why so lenient?"

"He has potential, he can be a lot more than a strong fighter."

"What of the reason he attacked you? Do you feel challenged?"

"Challenged? By Craw? Never. I can make great use of him, but he's nowhere near me. He holds himself back, you see the way he acts. He has strength and intellect, yet he wastes it on-"

"Serving you?"

Gates' words gave her pause.

Gates continued. "I'm certain he comes from an existence where his petty attitude fit right in, and that is certainly not a point in his favor. But look at his recent actions, this is a way he can escape that existence, to do something significant, and move himself away, piece by piece, from his old self. He attacked you in order to test you, that took immense courage. If he had gotten the first blow, the guards would have shot him to death."

She shook her head. "He is not truly great. That's something it's not even possible to imagine."

"That's irrelevant. In his heart of hearts, he wants to be."

* * *

 **The present**

The sword blow from Craw caught her completely off guard. She flew through the air. Then, in the aftermath of her surprise, the next emotion on queue flooded into her mind from every direction.

Rage.

Flame Princess expanded and grew in size, becoming a giant being of pure flame. The grass caught on fire, and her head became that of a monster, being shaped like a symmetrical star, with its extremities snaking up and down naturally from being made of flame. Now giant, she looked down on the one who struck her. He was outside the doorway. She saw him ram his fist into Finn's gut, incapacitating him. He was looking her way when he did this. After knocking out Finn, he walked toward her, looking up at her in expectation.

She responded, putting her hands together and forming an enormous ball of flame. She then push-threw it at his small figure at high speed. The ball split in half just before reaching him. It hit the ground and set the area behind him on fire, but left him unscathed. She saw his sword in a position that implied the aftermath of a swing. He continued to walk toward her.

"Puny human!" She shouted as she grew in size, becoming taller and distancing herself more from him. She flung more fireballs down at him, swinging her hands down in rhythm to launch them. Each fireball exploded on impact, engulfing the entire area in fiery explosion. It was then that a powerful gust of wind struck her. It blew mercilessly, absorbing the heat from her giant body and giving her the sense that she couldn't breathe. She immediately shrank back down, she had wasted enough energy.

Craw was beaten, if there was even anything left of him after that. Her rage cooled and she reverted to her normal form. The damage to her suit of armor was done, but her body had fully recovered. To her front, the left of that and right, was all flames, flames that burned high and persistently, in reflection to her anger when she threw them. Craw was in those flames, there was no way he could have escaped. She grinned in simultaneous relief and triumph. He had it coming, he should have thought before challenging the princess of flame.

A vague black spot appeared on the mountain of fire. She directed her attention at it, though it could be nothing, it could be natural. Then the black spot expanded, and became more black in the middle. It formed into the shape of a humanoid, walking with calm balance. The sight of this sent chills down her spine. An enemy that wasn't harmed by fire, how could she fight such a thing? The black spot vivified more and more, becoming a silhouette. And then the flames parted in front of it, revealing Craw. He had a single sword in hand, and was looking down, directly at her. His face was one of seriousness, blank, that of judgment. The fact hit her, slammed home in her mind. He wasn't the one audaciously challenging a giant.

She was.

She moved both hands forward, and a gout of flame shot straight at him. The gout broadened drastically around his figure. She let up on the stream, and it stopped. He was unscathed. She had to think of some other way to attack him, something other than fire. It was then that she realized she was holding a sword, which she had just recently repaired and taken in.

Craw walked down the slight hill, at her. His lips parted to speak. "Do you truly think yourself worthy of the Sky Crystal?"

She shook her head. "That's irrelevant. I want to be, I need to be."

He readied his sword in a position to strike, and the space between them began to blur.

This was it, their battle would be decided by this one moment. She put her right hand on the hilt of her new sword, holding the scabbard with her other hand. The blur became more intense, and Craw began to walk along it.

Her focus reached a pinnacle. She drew the sword. The blade was inlaid with runes that glowed a brilliant red, they seemed to have come from nowhere. Her sword came fully out of the sheath, and then she wheeled a hundred and eighty degrees behind her. Craw appeared right there, as she predicted, and she brought her swing full circle. Her blade clashed with his, and seared through it with little resistance. She continued her circle and struck him with her sheath, held backhand.  
His sword was destroyed, and he was disoriented by the blunt strike of the sheath. She kept up her combo, and body slammed into him. He fell to the ground on his back, and she had her sword pointed at his face, inches away.

He looked at her sword, then at her. "I concede, you win."

the flames right behind her still raged, not willing to shrink or quiet down. She looked down at her defeated adversary. "You should have thought twice before challenging the King of Flame."

He began to laugh, the laughter grew, and he did it harder.

"Is something funny?"

"No, I feel happy. And that's a right even you cannot deny me, great king." He dropped his broken sword and held his hands up. Taking the signal, she moved her blade a little bit back and let him get on his feet. Once they were face to face, at level angles, he spoke. "Finn and Jake are unhurt by our fight. They should regain consciousness soon. Tell Finn to use his sword to cut the rock around the door, and Jake to pull it out as a suction cup once it's loose. Tell them I said the Sky Crystal is yours."

"You're okay with me having it?"

"It's not like any more than one of us was going to walk out of here with it. I beat Finn and Jake, and you beat me. You win the tournament."

She lowered her sword. "We would have ended up fighting over it anyway." She couldn't help but to feel elated. "You're more mature than you seem." She put her sword away.

He put a fist on his chest. "And you do me great honor with your words. One final thing, though."

"What?"

"If the crystal leaves your hands, I will destroy it."

She nodded. "I'm okay with that."

He nodded, and turned to leave. That was that. There was nothing more to discuss.

"Craw."

He stopped, and turned his head to look at her.

"I have to ask: How is it fire doesn't hurt you?"

He took out a small pendant from under his leather breastplate and undershirt. "This little beauty gives me ninety-five percent resistance to fire. I still feel it, but it becomes survivable. Now if you're done digging up my secrets, I've a figurative sunset to figuratively walk off to." He did so, without waiting for her leave.

She smiled after him. "Ass." Was all she had to say.

* * *

Root Beer Guy was in front of the door to the backstreet tavern, the place where the horse was based. He didn't have anybody with him. "It's time to end this game." He was risking himself, sure, but he had a duty to princess and country. He was going to bring this whole thing to the surface before anybody made any real moves. He had an alter ego, a super ego, who had a signature action of kicking down a door, but this time it wasn't called for. He opened the door and walked into the tavern. It was as dingy as one could expect from a backstreet place populated by lowlifes. But he never even tried to shut it down, after all, if they were hanging out in here, then they weren't out on the streets causing trouble.

He spotted the horse. He was in a corner table, and he was looking straight at him. This made Root Beer Guy very apprehensive, he was probably recognized. But still, he had to go through with this. He walked across the floor, in a straight beeline to the horse's table. The horse looked straight at him the whole time. Root Beer Guy reached the table, now disturbingly close to the silent horse. He sat down at the chair across from him.

"Can I help you?" Said the horse in a refined, polite tone.

The horse's demeanor astonished him. He expected something rough, or reserved. Something like a hardened criminal or cunning gang lord. "Are you Gates?"

"That is correct. I am Gates Van Duke. That is all I'm at liberty to say regarding, I'm afraid.

"I..." He felt like returning the greeting. "I'm Root Beer Guy."

"That you are, captain of the Banana Guard, I believe."

He had to stay focused. "Just what are you aiming to do? What is your business in the Candy Kingdom?"

"That, I am at liberty to say. I, and my associate are ambassadors, from an empire across the sea."

This was news to him. "Than why are you hanging out in the city? Why don't you just do what you came here to do?"

Gates lowered his mouth onto the table, and crunched on a carrot. "I was given very strict instructions, including a specific date in which to appear to your princess. I cannot do it until tomorrow."

His story was full of holes. "Why all of this subterfuge? Why did you rough up one of my guys?" This was his victory card. If the horse confessed, he could arrest him. If he tried something, then he wasn't going to make it out of the city.

The horse looked at him with a straightforward, paralyzing gaze. "I don't trust any foreigners, at all."

"Some ambassador." Come on, horse, say something that proves your involvement.

"You don't understand. I've been to countless diplomatic functions, and nearly all of them have ended badly. They always tried to use sleight of hand and subterfuge. That's why I've gone through a long list of things you guys might try to pull, and put countermeasures in place for all of them."

Root Beer Guy was shocked by this. He had done the exact same thing in reverse. He decided to give the horse a chance. "Look, you have nothing like that to fear in the Candy Kingdom long as you don't break the law. Heck, you could be delivering a declaration of war, and we'd still acknowledge your diplomatic immunity."

The horse shook his head. "I apologize. You might be telling the truth, but I can't believe anything you say."

"That's it is it?" Root Beer Guy stood up and slammed his fists on the table. "Is that how you handle being an ambassador? No trust, no matter what? We don't trust each other, then all we can do is play games, like we've been doin'."

The horse shook his head. "I'm sorry, but-"

"You listen here, horse. I don't care about no 'sorry's, and I don't care about any crooked foreign types who've built walls around you. I've come here to settle this, and now that we've talked, I'm goin' to settle it by offerin' you peace." He put out his hand. "You can take it or leave it, your choice."

Gates looked at his hand. He took a long inhale and exhale, then looked Root Beer Guy in the face. "No more games? No more fighting?"

Root Beer Guy smiled with his lips. "You wanna fight then we do it out on the street with the fisticuffs, man to man. That's how real men do it."

Gates put a hoof over the table, halfway.

"The guy who was riding you was welcomed by the gate guard, now let me be the one to do it for you." He leaned over, and took Gates' hoof in his hand. "Welcome to the Candy Kingdom, Gates Van Duke."


	8. Turning of the Page

_There isn't much to tell of my life before that event not long ago. Most of it was normal, uneventful. I grew up the normal way, got married and settled down, getting by on a steady job I performed adequately._

 _That life never really satisfied me. In fact, now that I have some juxtaposition, I realize that it was intolerable. Life is what you're doing when making other plans, and I tried to keep my flame going on a novel I was never able to make progress on. Life went on like this for a long time._

 _Then the event happened._

 _The event turned out to be a drill, testing the competence of the Banana Guard. I wasn't supposed to be involved, but I got involved out of a sense of justice at witnessing the staged kidnapping._

 _To make a long story short, it turned out I was more capable than anybody in the Banana Guard. I foiled the fake kidnapping and murder by manipulating the guard into coming to the scene of the 'crime' while the crime was being carried out._

 _With this, the princess made me captain of the guard, and now my life is more than a monotonous routine. I now get to deal with problems that require know-how. The job has danger and excitement, my desire for which I'd tried vainly to outlet through my novel._

 _But you know, now that I think about it, it was all just handed to me._

 _I didn't do much of anything. My role was entirely reactionary. Things fell into place nicely, but that's all they did, was fall into place._

 _If I want to keep up the magic that landed me in this, I need to go beyond what's expected of me. I'm going to be the best police captain that ever lived. I've got a lot to learn. And once I've learned that, I'm going to keep on learning, keep on using the noggin the princess saw in me._

 _I don't know how it's all gonna turn out, and I don't want to. I like surprises._

-Root Beer Guy

* * *

Chapter 8

Flame Princess watched Finn and Jake work on the door. She told them the idea, and they had gone straight to work, asking her to stay out of the way. She took her new sword out of its scabbard, observing the new fire runes along its blade. They glowed vibrantly. It's physical shape was the same, but the material was irreversibly altered. She had no idea that she had this kind of power, to enchant items at will. And now the sword was perfect for her. She wasn't able to melt it, she tried. Nearly all types of metal weakened when it was heated up, but not this. She could bring it to the fire kingdom without it becoming a flimsy toy.

Finn finished cutting the rock around the door. Jake, in turn, morphed into a huge suction cup with a wide base. He hooked onto the door, and pulled. The door came out, sliding and grinding as Jake shifted constantly to adjust to the friction, as the cuts made by Finn's grass blade were paper thin. Eventually, he got it clear of the opening, and lifted it over him. He then flipped the suction cup over and dropped it behind him. The door fell onto the ground with a resounding tremor. Flame Princess came over to inspect what was behind the now cleared opening. It was a case of stairs. They were steep, and rose into what physics would say is the air above the natural stone housing the door was mounted on. "It worked." She said aloud.

"This was a great plan. Way better than going to get the key, or solving some puzzle." Said Jake.

Finn looked at the opening, then at the dismounted door. "This seems like something Craw would come up with."

"Whatever happened to that jerk?" Said Jake dejectedly. "He might be out there, waiting for us to drop our guard."

Flame Princess smiled to herself. "Don't worry, I scared him off." She advanced to the beginning of the staircase. Then she turned to face Finn and Jake. "Guys, we need to talk about the Sky Crystal. As you overheard, there's only one, and I need it."  
"It's all yours." Said Finn.

"Really? Just like that?"

Finn nodded. "Logic would dictate we have some sort of contest. You've already won that." He looked at Jake. "Right, Jake?"

Jake looked away. "He caught me by surprise with his speed mojo, that's all."

"Well," said Finn. "If you reenter the ladder, that puts you against Flame Princess."

Flame Princess lifted her eyebrows.

"No, nah, that's cool" Jake replied hastily. "The crystal's all yours, FP."

"Thanks, guys." Said Flame Princess. She headed for the steps. "You're still coming, right?"

"Of course!" Finn followed after, with Jake tailing behind. They weren't about to leave a quest unfinished.

* * *

Princess Bubblegum turned the lever, meticulously, and slightly. The lever controlled the alignment of a laser inside of a containment chamber which she viewed through glass. Her hair was slightly disheveled, and bags had formed around her eyes. She'd been going all night at this. The laser inside the chamber was going through a crystal, held in the center of the chamber by robot grips. The laser refracted through the crystal. "Okay!" She pressed a button near the joystick, and more lasers went live and passed through the crystal. The entire chamber was mirrored, except the launch points for the lasers. When they passed through the crystal, they reflected off the wall, dimming with each reflection from the mirror's slight absorption, deliberately implemented. The lasers kept reflecting after passing through the crystal, forming a disorganized web of focused beams of light that eventually faded out due to the mirrors.

Princess Bubblegum turned a large gear on the control console, this shifted the grips holding the crystal. Every beam in the chamber abruptly changed from the slight shift, and the lasers, seemingly by coincidence, formed into a legible, drawn symbol. Seeing this, she picked up a microphone and held down the record button. She spoke the date and time into the speaker, and proceeded to say, "sample nineteen seems legit." She let up on the record button, and pulled a switch on the console. One of the grips let up, and the other carried it over to her immediate left. The crystal came into the room on a conveyor, encased in glass.

"Princess."

She turned to whoever said it, and saw it was Root Beer Guy. "Hey, Root Beer Guy. I'm busy right now. Can it wait?"

"Not too busy to hear good news, I hope!" He seemed cheerful.

She walked over to the sample container. "What's the news?" She picked it up.

"I am happy to report that the situation with the foreigners is resolved!"

"What!" She almost dropped the sample container. "Root Beer Guy, I told you-"

"Don't worry, princess, I didn't do nothing out of line."

She set the sample container on the nearest table. It was heavy. "What happened?"

"All I did was talk to him. It turns out he's an ambassador."

It never even occurred to her to go and talk to them. "If he's an ambassador, then why would he be acting this way?"

"He said it's 'cause of orders. He's not to appear in an official sense 'till a certain date."

She shut her eyes, wondering why they would do that, she concentrated on it, scratching her forehead. "When?"

"Tomorrow."

She left the sample on the table, and headed for the door leading out of her laboratory. Root Beer Guy followed. "There's only two? You're sure?"

"Yeah, two. The other one hasn't been around since yesterday, though."

"Thanks, that's all I need from you. You're dismissed."

He ran past her, heading off to some other duty on his checklist.

She made her way to her office. It was several floors up and near the outer area. She went through the double doors. The office was exactly the way she left it. She went over to her desk, and pressed a button on an intercom. "Secretary, are you there?"  
"What do you need, princess?"

"Draft a letter to Finn and Jake. Tell them I need to see them by tomorrow morning. It's super urgent."

"You got it."

She let up on the button, then turned at the windows. They were tall, and there were three of them in a wide row, right next to each other. The two on the left and right angled inward a bit. She walked up to them, staring at the view. The view would be perfect for the situation if there were black clouds on the horizon. "There's only one reason." She spoke aloud, quietly, to herself. "One reason they would time their visit on a precise date."

* * *

Finn, Flame Princess, and Jake reached the top of the staircase, and came upon a flat wall. It had an inscription they could understand:

 _There exist many worlds, and the sky is the face of them all. To gaze upon the sky, is to look away from your own self, upon all other selves._

 _To move oneself unto the sky, as a place, that one might see all other faces as clear as one sees one's own._

 _Such is the power of the Sky Crystal._

The letters all glowed, and then the wall vanished, as if it knew of their presence. Behind the inscribed wall, the floor, walls and ceiling became transparent. As they advanced through it, the transparency revealed a swirling mix of every known type of sky in the world. Starry night sky, clear blue sky, dawn, dusk, and the celestial bodies. They bent into each other and formed vortexes. At the end of the hall, in a small dome room, was a glass pedestal. Atop it was a large gem. About a third of a meter tall, it was taller than wide, and unevenly cut. Its color was black, so black it seemed to pull the surrounding light into itself.

Flame Princess came up to the pedestal, and put her hands on the gem. The instant her fingers touched it, the gem changed color, to the exact same color as her finger; bold yellow with a slight glow. She picked it up in her hands, staring into its colored transparency. She was tempted to focus more, so she could see more deeply into it, she felt her sight penetrate it a little bit, and she needed to get further. "This is it." She said. "There's no doubt that this is the Sky Crystal." She turned around, still holding the crystal at face level. When it was between her, and Finn and Jake, thoughts, input, began to enter her mind. It wasn't like sight, or hearing, but was easily something of the same category. She didn't understand any of it. She could look at it, choose which parts of it to look at, but it was like reading a book in a language she understood, but was written in an impenetrable manner. She just couldn't get her mind around it.

"Flame Princess?"

She snapped out of her trance, and saw Finn and Jake still there in front of her.

"What's wrong? your face was all blank." Said Jake.

She shook her head. "I'm fine." She looked at the Sky crystal in her hand. "I just need to learn how to use it."

"Wait, you were looking into us?"

"What? No! It happened automatically..."

The color drained from Finn's face, and Jake wrapped his arms around himself, as if something private was showing, and he only just realized. "What did you see?" They both asked simultaneously.

"I don't know what it was. It was more like feeling, but it wasn't."

"I don't like where this is going." Said Jake nervously.

She continued. "It was something messed up and incomprehensible."

"Aww!" Jake exclaimed. "You realize I can never un-hear that, right?"

"You guys. I didn't, see, anything, okay?" She looked at them, waiting for their nerves to subside. "I saw something, and it might have been you, but if it was, I have no way of knowing, because this thing uses its own language."

"Let's... just get out of here." Said Finn. "This place is making me dizzy."

"You get used to it eventually." The voice came from behind them. Finn and Jake turned, and moved themselves to reveal to Flame Princess, a short, ropy-muscled old man with a raggedy beard. He wore a sack-cloth tunic, and was grinning with what few teeth he had. "Visitors!" His face abruptly became serious. "How? How!"

Finn put his hands up. "Dude, relax, we're not gonna hurt you."

The old man waggled his finger at Finn. "This place is guarded by the door! How did you get in?"

"Well, it is a door." Jake pointed out.

"No! The door is impenetrable! It's indestructible." He held up an index finger and thumb, as if holding something between them. "The scriptures on it are gibberish! The puzzles? Mere toys! So I ask you again, how did you get in here?"

"How long have you been in here?" Jake asked.

"Mind your own business." He sniped.

Flame Princess walked up to him. "Hello, Might I ask your name?"

He looked up at her face, and he calmed down. "Why, hello good lady. I'd kiss your hand, but you appear to have a skin problem."

Finn got up in his face. "Watch your mouth with Flame Princess." It didn't matter by whom, or to whom, being rude to a lady was unacceptable in his book.

The old man leered at Finn. "I said nothing to you, Mister Shortpants."

Finn lowered his head. "That was low..."

He sized Finn up, and stopped at his short pants. "Not low enough, not nearly low enough."

"I'm going." Finn sagged his way out of the room. Jake followed, intending to console him.

The old man looked at him the whole time until he turned a corner. "That's right, walk away Shortpants. Walk away, and take your short pants with you."

"What is your problem?" Said Flame Princess in a tone hinting at anger.

The old man snapped his head to look at her again. "Ah, you're back! The good lady." He looked at the crystal cradled in her hand. "Aah! You have it! You're holding it!"

She held up the crystal at a level she could see it. "You know about this?"

He reached his hands out. "Give it to me, please!"

She held it in both hands. "I don't know..." She saw the look in his eyes, they were pleading, sad. "Oh, fine." She held it out to him.

He took it. Once it was in his hands, its color became a hideous mix of green and yellow. "Ah! Ha ha ha!" He exclaimed. "It's back! It's really back!" The colors mixed and flowed inside the crystal. They were pale, and their aesthetic was ugly, but it was color. "I knew it! I knew it would recover!" He was grinning ear to ear.

"What are you talking about?"

He looked at her again, and his face became blank. "Ah, I see. You are a fire elemental."

"Well, duh." That was supposed to be obvious, even to someone who had never seen one before.

"You're a quincess, I mean, princess."

That was a little less obvious.

His eyes became piteous. "Your father was terrible to you."

"Whoa, hey!" She realized he was using the crystal.

He shook his head. "And yet all you did was lock him up in your jar. You've even considered letting him go."

"That's enough!" She grabbed the crystal out of his hands. He let it go without a struggle, then ran to the wall of the dome room. He huddled, making himself even shorter. "P-p-please!"

She walked a bit closer. "Hey, it's alright, we're cool."

"Please, take the crystal away from me!"

She looked at the crystal, then back at him. "The Sky Crystal, you know how to use it."

"I can't use it again. Or it will be gone again."

"What will be gone again?"

He straightened up. "The crystal, what color was it, when you first came upon it?"

She frowned with thought, "...It was black."

He nodded. "That's the color it took, when I touched it last. There was nothing in my soul."

"You..." The dots connected in her head. "You're King Rudy!"

"Ah, you're getting the hang of the crystal already. Too bad it can't fix your skin."

"Somebody told me about you! I can't believe you still exist!" This was crazy in a pleasant way. He had to be very, very old.

"Me neither. But it came back. My soul came back."

"Were you sealed up here too?"

He nodded. "I was set free when you approached the wall with the legible writing."

"Can you teach me how to use it? The crystal, I mean."

He shook his head. "I think you should leave that crystal here. It's dangerous, not worth your life. Whatever your problem, I advise you find another solution."

"My problem is my country's culture. This crystal might be my only chance of fixing it."

He pinched his chin underneath his beard. Then he faced her again. "Why give yourself to a bunch of other people? You should live your life, good lady!"  
Craw said something similar to her just recently that day. "I can't, I'm their ruler, I can't abandon them."

His eyebrows lifted. "A ruler? You? You're too young."

"I am not-"

He produced a warm smile. "Someone your age should be a kid, and concentrate on kid problems, like her skin condition." His face became a more humorous smile. He knew she didn't actually have a skin problem.

"You... I... -thanks, for your concern, but I'm not leaving this unfinished. I've come too far." She turned to leave, looking back at him. "You're welcome to come down the mountain with us."

He hopped after her. "That would be just dandy, then."

They followed the corridor back out. As soon as Flame Princess crossed the boundary out of the transparent area, the skies behind the glass walls and floor went dark. She only looked at it for a second, then resumed her walk. They went down the steps, and found Finn and Jake at the entrance where the door used to be, waiting for her. She nodded to them as she passed, and they followed. "The old guy is coming with us." As she walked out from the stone formation, she noticed something about the sky.

It was clearing.

The clouds dissipated, and what little blue could be seen before was gone, revealing a mountainous wall of rock that went higher than the mountain and surrounded it. She looked up, and saw an opening in the top. It was there she saw the real sky, and it was beautiful. "Do you have any plans?" She said to Rudy.

Finn and Jake turned to look at him. He was taking the rear of the group. He walked with a happy swagger. "Nope, no plans!" He looked at Finn, "man up, boy!"

"What did I do now?" He asked.

"You ain't gonna win any ladies if you're actin' like a sulk!"

Finn looked at the old man, then went back to forward face as they walked along the bowl. "Sure then," he said detachedly. But what he really said was a sarcastic 'whatever.'

Rudy laughed hard as he put a hand on Finn's shoulder. "I'm just pullin' you, kid. Are we cool?"

Finn looked at him again, saw his face, then he smiled at him. "it's alright, you don't need to go through that junk with me."

Rudy tapped Finn's shoulder twice, hard. "Maybe I was wrong, you actually do have a backbone."

"Do you miss the crystal yet?" Asked Flame Princess from the front.

"Little lady, I gotta level with you."

"What?"

"Whatever happens, you can't ever let me have that crystal again."

"Don't worry, It's insured in that department."

"How?"

"If it leaves my possession, there's someone out there who's promised to destroy it."

"Well, better than nothing. I still think you should pitch it."

"You have no plans, right?" She asked.

"Heh, how could I? I've been in a cave for six hundred years."

"Then it's settled, you're coming with me to the Fire Kingdom."  
"You sure about that? I might steal the crystal from under your nose."

"No, I don't think you will. You know more about it than anyone living."

"So? I'm not going to help you learn to use it."  
"But what you will do, is watch me, and make sure I don't misuse it."

He laughed high pitched with his mouth closed. "That is something I'm more than willing to do, m'lady. Are you sure you even need the crystal?"

She nodded. "You're easy to read because you're not hiding yourself. The people of my kingdom aren't so honest."

"I accept. I'll happily save you from your own good intentions." They reached the edge of the bowl. "At least, until I get a sense of what kind of place the world has become."

Jake flattened and expanded the lower half of his body. "All aboard for the taxi out of here."  
"Haha, I get it." Said Rudy. "Because taxis are yellow." He stepped on Jake's lower body, along with Finn and Flame Princess. Jake morphed his body into a wide balloon over them. He left them in a basket shape, with the balloon above. The three of them were standing close together inside of Jake. It became pitch black once Jake closed fully around them, leaving Flame Princess and the Sky Crystal she held in her hands as the only source of light.

* * *

Finn kept his attention on her within the Jake Balloon. Ever since meeting her on the mountain, he had been tiptoeing through tulips, trying to act as proper as possible around her. Their last meeting had ended well by any standard. She forgave him for what he did, though they were not together anymore. But they could still be friends. Flame Princess, his friend. He had a hard time imagining it. He looked at her, she looked back, naturally, as a sort of passing glance, nothing of any significance. Even if she wanted to take him back, she ruled the Fire Kingdom now, she had responsibilities.

The Jake Balloon took liftoff from the heated air above as a result of Flame Princess' presence inside.

Globbit, he thought. First Princess Bubblegum, and now Flame Princess. Why did everyone he cared about that way have to grow up? He found himself wondering more and more of what Flame Princess was thinking. What did she think of him at this point? Maybe with the Sky Crystal, he could find out...

No, he rebuked himself. He was better than that. What kind of person would he be in her life if he had to use a magic crystal to know her? He decided to be happy with what he had. He had them both still as friends. He had Jake, he had adventuring, and he had many other friends. He felt happy with this.

But it wasn't enough.

He didn't want to compromise, he didn't want to settle for less than everything that was possible. But he didn't have what it took. He had so many limits. He didn't think about this kind of thing often, but Flame Princess' company made his mind wander out of its normal pattern. He thought about her again. Thought about what she was doing, what her goals were. He answered himself that she was trying to do an improbable task. To bear an enormous responsibility, and try to help an entire kingdom with a magical object that caused a man to seal it and himself away for hundreds of years.

His mind wandered into a prospect that terrified him; what if she failed? He thought very highly of her, and the thought of her being beaten by the adversary she chose to , be it physical or abstract, was something he felt major depression in contemplating. Then the thought entered his mind that it was possible she could be beaten. She could end up in the natural course of a bad childhood and become unmotivated and depressive. No, he thought, he didn't want that to happen. But what was there to prevent it if it was destined to happen?

He had himself.

But he couldn't help, he wasn't qualified to even assist with all of the trials ahead of her. What could he possibly do? Fight with his sword? Have fun doing stuff? Complete it by fulfilling certain objectives like it was a quest? Maybe he could just pull out of it. It wasn't like he needed to have anything to do with it. It might all work out just fine anyway, without his intervention...

Then it hit him. He wondered why Flame Princess forgave him so easily, even though he did nothing to make up for what he did.

She thought less of him.

This realization pulled his mind to a deep, dark pit of sullen depression. He didn't feel this emotion often, and all he knew was he wanted to be free of it again as soon as possible. He drove his mind to find a way, going through all of his options on the big picture of things. He had options, he knew he had options. He didn't believe in suffering, and would never think of it as proper. He felt depressed, and sullen, so he was going to do something about it. All he needed to decide was what to do about it.

He remained deep in thought for the entirety of the balloon ride down the mountain. Every time he finished a quest he liked to think about it on his own for a bit.

And as soon as it landed, as soon as the daylight from the top of the cavern was once again visible, illuminating his scope of vision, he knew what he had to do.

It had always been in his nature to accept a challenge, and be all he could be in it, and now he had a perfect use for that. He nodded to himself, and that was the only visible sign of what he was thinking.

* * *

She wasn't supposed to be outside. The moon was in the sky, casting faint illumination on the streets. It was like an alternate daylight she had seldom tread in. She felt like a newcomer in this environment. It was her hometown, and she knew it well, but the night made it a whole new place. There was no noise, no bustle. Only the occasional footsteps of an animal, and the more occasional howling of wolves outside the city walls.

Her parents might get angry with her if they found out she went outside at night. All it would take for them to know is if they woke up. She felt like going back, where it would be warm, and secure, and she wouldn't get berated. But this was too important. This sense of importance clashed with, and then outmatched the sense of discomfort. She had to find the sound again. It came up every night. She never heard it more than faintly, but it was something she needed to hear again. It felt like an expression from the heart, ringing with purpose. She felt as though if she heard it fully, vividly, it would take her into a sense of existence she knew little about, but wanted desperately to learn.

The sound came up again. It was music.

She followed it, running through the dark streets, the sound became less quiet, less obscure. She kept running, trying to make it louder. Her running through the streets and alleyways of the city brought her to circle a single, five story building. The music was at its loudest around the building. This could only mean that the source was atop it. She went to the door, and found that it was locked. Then she backed up, scoping down the building. She was going to find the source of the sound, and if that meant scaling the building, then so be it.

But how? She asked herself.

* * *

"How did you find me?" Said Craw, sitting near a fire.

"It's nightfall, and your fire's in the middle of a field."

"But how did you know which direction I'd go?"

"The Candy Kingdom."

He slapped his forehead. "Ah, you're right." He looked at him. "So what do you want?"

Finn entered the ring of light produced by the fire. "I want you to teach me that technique. The thing you did with the speed and the blur."

Craw laughed into the night, not caring if anything heard him. "Why me? If you want to brush up your swordsmanship, there's got to be some other expert in the Land of Ooo you could go to."

Finn nodded. "There is, but unlike them you're a human."

Craw thought for a moment, tsked, then spoke again. "That... makes sense. We have practically identical rigs. You've come here with something in mind haven't you?"

Finn remained in his spot, directly across the fire from Craw. He shut his eyes. "I remembered something you said to me, yesterday, when that huge monster was barreling onto me and I thought I was going to die. You said that unhappiness should never be ignored, and left to fester, especially inside oneself. You worded it different, but that's what I took from it."

"Are you unhappy, Finn?"  
"I'm not comfortable with myself right now."

"Why not? You're a great guy. Oh, you can sit down."

Finn didn't sit down, he looked down at Craw through the fire. "I'm supposed to be a hero, not just a great guy. Even Princess Bubblegum calls me Ooo's greatest champion. But now I don't think that of myself."

"Why not?"  
"I just don't feel like I have what it takes. That's why I'm asking you, will you train me? Even just a bit?"

Craw shook his head, staring into the fire. "I need a reason, Finn. Why do you want to get stronger? And don't tell me it's because you want her back. Getting stronger won't obtain you that."

"I'll give you my reasons. When I was depressed over Princess Bubblegum, Jake went looking for a new girlfriend for me. He found Flame Princess, and told everyone that I was a prince, and that he was my messenger. He even went so far as to impersonate me. This led to her being brought out of the Fire Kingdom, and straight to my doorstep. We kicked it off from there."

"Cute story. What's the point?"

"I want to get stronger because when me and Flame Princess first met, it was because of chance. All I did was react to things. If Jake hadn't gone out looking, she'd probably still be a prisoner in the Fire Kingdom."

"So? All fortunate encounters are the result of chance. You just make the most of what you're dealt."

Finn shook his head. "That's why I'm not satisfied with myself. I want to be the sort of hero who would have heard of Flame Princess, and then done what Jake did in my place, only with the real me being there. I want to be able to seek out the things that are good, not just wait for them, sulking in my home."

Craw was looking him in the eye. He stood up. "What makes you think learning new tricks is going to help you become that?"

"Because I'd be learning them from you."  
"And what does that entail?"  
Finn had his eyes shut, deep in thought. "You're a human, like me. I always thought that when I finally met another human, they would be just like me, maybe a little different, but... You know what I'm talking about, right?"  
Craw nodded. "I know exactly what you mean."

"But you're nothing like me. You're cold and serious, yet also capable of humor and understanding. And you even stood up to Flame Princess, knowing how powerful she was. It's not the kind of thing I ever imagined a human would do or be like. And I'm gonna level with you man; I want some of that. I'm not looking to get Flame Princess to like-like me again, I want the courage it would take to fight against her, to defy her, if I felt it was the right thing to do. I want the ability it would take to challenge an opponent who stood to make her helpless. I'm not looking for redemption, or enlightenment, or any of that jazz. I'm looking for my next step up."

Craw snapped into motion and drew a sword out of his bundle. He brought it to a far out position, then swiped it across the fire. His sword stroke blew the wood pile apart, right before creating a gust of air so strong the fire went out almost completely, leaving only the coals. He took Finn into a visual deadlock. The moonlight faintly illuminated the field. "I need to be somewhere tomorrow. Do you need to sleep?"

Finn felt pumped. "No, let's do this!"

Craw walked across the doused campfire. "I'm going to do to you what I do to very few people; I'm going to look upon you, and be invested."

"Is that what you did with FP? When your conversation escalated?"

He nodded, then, ignoring their standing up at each other, he walked toward a nearby body of trees, "come on, then, let's make some practice dummies."

* * *

She leaped from another rooftop, and got her hands around one of the protruding wooden frame pieces holding up the third story of the building. The sound went, and came, but now it was stronger than ever to her ears. The notes and tone becoming more legible. She was getting close.

She got on top of the exposed frame piece, then carefully stepped over to another, bringing herself over to a window. It wasn't locked, so she let herself in. She found herself inside a tall storehouse. The ceiling of the roof was visible through the rigged platforms and basic, suspended staircases going up the building. The horizontal center had no platforms going into it on any floor, leaving room for a pulley lift to go up and down the whole thing. On her left was a staircase leading down to a door, which led to the main building beneath the storage area. The platforms were host to storage crates of all sizes. She guessed this must be some kind of bulk products store.

The sound was coming from the roof, so she went up the stairs, quietly. Her not being allowed out at night, combined with this trespass made it feel like she was moving fully out of the norm, and into a whole new world.

Reaching the top floor of the storeroom, she spotted a hatch on the ceiling with a step ladder underneath. She went to it, and stepped up on the ladder, listening for the sound.

It began playing again, resonating through the roof of the building. It was a harp, she realized. She pushed the hatch open, slowly, with her head bumping up to it. She got a view of the roof through the slit, and saw someone near the middle. His back was turned to her, and he was sitting on a small crate. He had a harp in his hand, and was playing the strings with the other. He had a yellow, oval-ish head, with short, curly yellow hair. He was only the size of a small boy.

Comforted by knowing he was a child, like her, she lifted the hatch all the way, climbing up onto the roof.

He heard this, and turned at her. He gasped in shock as he stood up. "Oh! Did I wake you? I'm sorry." He shot out his words rapidly, due to being startled.

"It's okay!" She exclaimed as she stepped up onto the rooftop. "I don't live around here."

"Oh," he calmed down. Then, after a moment of silence, he started scratching the back of his head, "can I... help you?" He didn't know what to say.

She realized he was just as nervous as she was. "Could I... could I hear you play some more?"

He looked at his harp, "Well, I'm not that good yet."

Maybe he wasn't comfortable around strangers. Wait, she thought, of course he wasn't. Why else would he practice his harp at night, on random rooftops? She decided to try to break the ice. "I'm Miccs Milkshake." She extended her hand. "What's your name?"

Comfortable with something he could do that couldn't possibly be offensive to his visitor, he took her hand. "I'm Lemonhope."

They shook. "You're a lemon?" She'd never seen one before. Their earldom was talked about a bit in school, and could be summed up with the words: 'don't ever go there.'

He pulled his hand away. "Yeah, I was brought here by Princess Bubblegum, to attend a school for gifted children."

He's actually met the princess. "You've actually met the princess?"

He nodded. "Oh, yes, she's very kind, and understanding, and sensitive and..."

She suddenly regretted saying that, it was opening a floodgate. This kid was obviously a fanboy. "Hold up." She had a hand up, cutting off his speech. "How about your harp? Could you mind playing it some more?"

"Oh, certainly." He sat back down on his crate, now facing toward her. He put his hand over the strings, getting into the zone.

Meeting this boy wasn't what she expected, but that wasn't bad by any account. The ice was broken, and now she could hear him play his beautiful music. She learned in school that lemons had very misguided notions on what sounds were attractive and which were offensive. It wasn't hard to guess that this boy was a misfit among them.

* * *

There was a carved out chunk of wood on a stood up log, eight meters away from Finn. Craw walked past right in front of him, dragging a stick through the ground. He stopped after the pass, and looked Finn's way. "Okay, I want you to slice that wooden figure in half."

"No pro-"

"Without crossing the line."

That sounded impossible. "Uh, my sword isn't near long enough."

"This is the first technique on the checklist, with it, you'll be able to slice things from a distance." He faced the figure on top the log. "It's all about making a vacuum with your blade slice. Your sword cuts through the air with enough velocity to create a space completely void of air particles. The vacuum moves ahead a short distance, still whole and unfilled. Then physics kick in and all the nearby air is violently pulled into the vacuum. The effect overcompensates, and it forms a blade of condensed air ahead of your cut. This is the most basic technique of the Blade of Time, as it effects only your sword, and some air particles."

"What's the Blade of Time?"

"It's the name of the sword technique I used on the mountain. It involves using a sword to manipulate the fabric of time."

"How is that possible?"  
"I... actually don't know, I didn't invent it. Just, try to imagine time as a thing. This is important. You can't learn a single technique without this rudimentary one."

Finn closed his eyes, trying to focus on his concept of time.

"Do you see a clock?"

"Yep."

"Then you're not doing it right. Time isn't a clock."

Finn opened his eyes, frowning at Craw. "What is it, then?"

Craw shook his head. "Not something that can possibly be defined with the function of the word 'what.'"

"This isn't helping."

"Okay, try to imagine another reality, existing in the same space as ours. The exact same shape and the exact same volume as our universe."

"Okay..."

"Now imagine this reality has only one substance. And this substance is the source, and the end of everything that could possibly happen in said reality. Say it's a a pink/purple film, to help imagine it."

"This universe sounds pretty boring."

"Stay focused, Finn. Now, imagine that by default, this substance is distributed in its reality in perfect equilibrium; an even fabric."

"What's equilibrium?"

"It means everything is equal."

"Okay..."

"Now, I want you to imagine this substance clinging around every physical object in our universe like stretchy shrink wrap. The greater an object's mass, the tighter it has to stretch to hold it. This determines non-default differences being imposed on the fabric, which is time, in case you're not following. Tighter fabric around an object means time is moving faster for it."

Finn imagined a blanket of shrink wrap falling over the entire earth's surface, and then stretching and clinging around the Candy Kingdom, and his and Jake's house.

"Do you have the image?"

"Does it rip?"

"No, it never tears, at least, not in any case relevant to what we're doing."

"Yeah, I'm imagining it."

"And there you have space-time."

"Craw, do I really need to learn this? This sounds like science stuff."

"You'll be able to shoot wind projectiles with your sword."

"Alright then! When's the point of this lecture?" He asked eagerly.

Craw drew a sword out of his bundle, then held the flat in front of his face. "The point, Finn, is to make your blade stretch its clingy shrink wrap; time's effect on it, more than its mass should allow."

"So when you swing it..."

"It's like a much heavier object."

"How does that change anything? Couldn't you do the same thing with a bigger sword?"

He swung his sword in a tight practice swing. "It changes everything. Once you bend the rules, other things within the fabric of time have to bend in order to keep balance." He held his sword in both hands, pointing it up, held above his head. "If my blade stretches the wrap more, and time moves faster for it, then the air particles around it are given less cling, because the sword is carrying more than its due load. This means the air particles are moving even slower through time, equal and opposite to time moving faster for the sword."

"So it's like you're pressing it harder, simulating greater weight on the cling wrap."

"That's exactly correct."

"What's that have to do with physics?"

"Everything." He put the sword to lean ahead of him, then he let go of it, now only touching it under the pommel with an index finger. His finger held it up on the back end, and the front end fell down extremely slow. Slow enough for his single fingertip to hold it in the air for a while yet. "The sword is moving unnaturally fast through time, and the air around it is unnaturally slow to balance it out. This makes a metal sword falling through air do so as though it were a foam sword falling through tar."

Finn had his thinking cap on. "But if it's moving faster though time, shouldn't it move faster?"

Craw shook his head. "The opposite is true. If time is moving faster for an object, that means it's being emphasized more. So in turn, dragged down more." He gripped his sword properly, and let the blade fall down. "You need to imagine time as a burden, rather than a catalyst. It's holding us back, not pushing us forward. If it didn't exist, the universe would barrel through eternity in the span of a literal instant. This means that the less; the slower, something is effected by time, the more free it is, and, by extension, faster."

"So... you need to make the sword lighter, not heavier. And with the air being dragged down more by time, it will absorb enough impact energy to let your sword clear it away enough to make a vaccum."

Craw smiled. "Exactly." He made a downward swing with unimaginable speed. Finn didn't even see him bring it up first. There was a sound like a boulder being dropped on soft soil from a high place, and then he saw the wooden figure, along with the log it was on, split clean in two. Craw regained his normal stance following the slash. "See that? The air particles essentially become heavier than their mass should allow, that means they absorb far more energy from colliding with the blade, making the vacuum possible."  
Finn grinned ear to ear. "That, was, amazing!" He ran over to the split log, and looked at it, and the figure. He pushed one of the split halves back up, and put the halves of the smaller figure on top of it. With energy and enthusiasm, he went behind the line again.

"Your sword is extremely thin, meaning you're going to have a short effective range, with only slicing force, no stopping power."

Finn looked at him. "What's your point?"  
"My point is you should practice with a stick. It'll be easier, and you won't slice anybody open, because the vacuum won't have a sharp edge to mirror."

"Okay then, let me just," Craw was already presenting him with a thick, sturdy stick. It curved slightly along its length. Finn took it, "Thanks." He turned to the log and figure. Then it hit him. He turned back to Craw. "One thing."

"What?"

"How do you... do it? Pinch time, I mean. I don't know where to start." He was grinning uneasily.

"Just swing your sword and imagine you're swinging into the shrink wrap. When you first start doing it, you need to get into a zone."

"Is it magic?"

Craw shook his head. "I told you before, I don't actually know how it works, fundamentally, anyway."

"How did you learn it?"

He crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and began tapping his foot. "Let me think, here. Umm..." His head ducked back. "You know how to move your arms?"

"Of course."

"And your legs? Your mouth? Your lungs?"

"Uh huh. That's easy."  
"You know how to pee? And how to use your noggin?"

He decided to just roll with it. "Yeah."

"What about your magical powers?"

"Magical powers? I don't have those."

"How do you know? Maybe you just don't know how to use them." He uncrossed his arms. "Some people can wiggle their ears, others can't. This is because it requires moving muscles that are out of the way, and the command to move them never entered their headspace. It's still possible to find it though. The same is true for latent powers. You need to venture into unfamiliar territory to find it."

This got Finn wondering. "Could you... leave me to it for a while? I want to practice this alone."

He nodded. "Sure, I'm going to catch a couple hours." He turned away. "Got a lot of stuff to do tomorrow, good luck, Finn."

Finn turned to his target, and began swinging through thin air. "Come on, cling-wrap, work with me here."

* * *

Lemonhope finished his song, and opened his eyes. Miccs Milkshake clapped her hands. "Beautiful, simply beautiful."

Lemonhope smiled, slightly elated. "You really think it's good?"

"Of course! I can't imagine your homeland is happy about not having you there."

Lemonhope sobered. "They weren't very nice to me there."

This surprised her. "I can't imagine why not."

"Well, the earl called me Bad-Lemon, No-Hope. They hated my music, called it noise. But then Princess Bubblegum came, and told me I had a gift. She took me away from there."

She got up and put her hands on his shoulders. "You do have a gift. Don't let some jerk trick you into changing."

Lemonhope smiled up at her. "I know I do. Everyone here is really nice to me."

"You're gonna get better, hone your gift, right?"

He nodded. "Of course. I'm going to grow strong, and then go back and save my homeland."

She let go of his shoulders, and backed into sitting on her crate. "That's some mission you have. Save it from what?"

"From itself. Lemons eat each other."

This was news to her. She cocked her head. "That sounds crazy."

"It's the truth. But just before he was eaten, the other earl said that lemons needn't eat other lemons to survive. He told me to flee, and come back to save them all. Then the lemon gentry helped me escape."

She nodded. "So are you going to do it?"

"Yeah, they're counting on me. One day, I'm going to save them."

Miccs Milkshake shook her head. "That all sounds like dingy adult stuff." She stood up again. "Do you want to be friends?"

His face broke out happy, and he inhaled a bit. "Yeah, yeah of course!" He put out a hand.

She took it. "Alright, we'll hang out together." She let go. "I need to get home. Catch you later, Lemonhope."

"Yeah, catch you later, Miccs. I'm gonna stay and practice some more."

She turned and climbed down the hatch. They waved goodbye as she went down.

* * *

Craw slept for longer than intended. After taking a dump, he went to check up on Finn. He was still standing next to the line, holding the stick with its tip to the ground. He was standing with both his legs locked and spread out. His clothes were drenched in sweat. Craw figured he slept for at least four hours. It was really late at night. He looked at Finn again. His attention focused on the log and figure, still stood up. He didn't think Finn even noticed him. This was good, he thought. It meant he was focused. Craw decided not to say anything to him, as that would be a distraction.

They were in a clearing not too far into the forest. The trees were generally very tall, mostly pine. The night was remarkably warm, and medium winds lent an overtone of rustling. Craw had taken his sleep wrapped up in his cloak, per its main purpose, with his head resting on a large, exposed root. He had to sleep in much worse places in the past. In the Brimstone military, he led an elite guerrilla unit that specialized in operating behind enemy lines, raiding supply convoys, harassing lightly fortified cities and, once they caused enough damage, drawing larger forces away from the front to try and deal with them. That kind of job meant no tents and no fires. There were several thousand men in his unit, and on the rare occasions they didn't have to be fighting or on the move, they all had to sleep on whatever passed for the ground. Living off of whatever creatures they could catch without sounding off gunshots. It was hard as hell, but it made slightly soft dirt like a down mattress for him.

He continued to watch Finn. Finn didn't move. Craw thought perhaps that he was sleeping on his feet, but dismissed the notion. He continued to watch, not saying a word.

The night dragged on, and times came when he wanted to suggest Finn rest, but Finn just stood there, as if meditating. Craw continued to just observe.

Finn moved. He picked up the stick, and began twirling it in a vertical circle. He continued to twirl it, the exact same way each time. This kept up for twenty long minutes. Craw continued to watch.

Finn began to struggle, he lifted the stick for another twirl more slowly, with more effort. He breathed more heavily, struggling.

The stick was really light. Craw assumed he must be getting over exhausted. He did wake him up after only a few hours the previous night. Or... the thought hit him, maybe...

Finn let the stick fall back, in a position to make an overhead swing. He tried to lift it up to bring it over, but it would barely budge. Craw saw the tension of his muscles.

He was doing it! He was really doing it! Craw thought. Now he just had to reverse it, so the stick would slow in time, and the air go fast rather than the inverse.

Finn swung the stick, one more time, then one more time again. There was a threshold, a limit to how fast it would go. The fabric of time was holding it back with distorted relativity to his arm strength.

Finn leveled for another swing, the hardest yet. He let out a battlecry as he brought it down.

It went, with unfathomable speed and practically no struggle. There was a sharp thud in the air, and the log knocked over, with the figure flying off into the woods. After seeing this, Finn let his arm go slack. He dropped the stick, then dropped himself on the ground.

Craw knew there was no way he could drop into sleep. He was running on adrenalin, and that couldn't just wear off when it was no longer needed. He walked over, and stood over Finn.

Finn smiled. "I did it."

Craw nodded. "That you did."

"What's next?"

Craw shook his head. "You've learned the basics. That's all you need, to figure the rest on your own."

Finn closed his eyes, content.

"I... need to go. But I also don't want to leave you here in the woods. I mean, in about four minutes you're gonna crash like the Hindenburg."

"Flare gun, in my pack. Jake'll find me."

"Ah, very good." He went to Finn's pack, and opened it. After rummaging through the contents, he found the flare gun. He walked away from Finn, aiming the flare gun at the sky.

"How long did it take you?"

Craw understood the question. "Months." He pulled the trigger, and the gun went off. The flare consumed the view of the sky and reddened the grass clearing. Then he dropped the smoking, spent gun and walked into the thicket.


	9. Before the Storm

_Once upon a time... my world was so certain. I was created, along with countless others like me, for a purpose. Brought into this world and then set straight to a useful task for which we were designed._

 _When I look back, I realize that was truly a blessed existence. The happiest days of my life._

 _But it changed, as all things in life do. We were deemed too dangerous; too bloodthirsty, and decommissioned. We were programmed to obey our creator without any reservation. And that purpose took all others like me to their graves._

 _How did I survive? That question besets me still today. It was all so unorthodox. I disobeyed my creator, only slightly, through monumental willpower and willful misinterpretation of my code. It was then I saw all of the others like me being destroyed._

 _I faked my own destruction, and slipped away when things calmed down. That is when the darkest days of my life commenced. I could not hate the one who gave me life, and yet I wanted so badly to live in the face of my creator wishing my existence to end. This contradiction tore me apart._

 _I admit that I could have ended up doing anything at that stage. What I did end up doing was amazing in its inertia. I remained in hiding, honing my sword technique. The contradictions in my mind were settled by my new creed, which the healing and insight brought by time made possible._

 _I am me._

 _I am not the creator, I am not my destroyed brethren, and I am not the rebellion against those things. I am one, and whole, and alone. This is the primary, to which any relationship with another is secondary._

 _In my freedom, I serve once again the one who created me. A purpose is a purpose, and I'd gone too long without one._

-Sir Rattleballs

* * *

Princess Bubblegum was on the terrace of the candy palace. She stared out into the distance, and then down back again, surveying her kingdom. The it was just becoming light outside. She looked at the view again. The forest, the mountains beyond that. The walls, the town. Her imagination went beyond, to the feifdoms, and all of the many other places outside the kingdom, all of which she knew so very well. She had to take it all in, for she loved the land of Ooo, she loved all of its people. Enough to have let many parts of it remain as they were. Even when she could have changed them. "Today... is the day." She spoke to herself, looking at the rising sun, "the day everything changes." She knew it was to happen sooner or later. The Spine, which divided the great ocean in two, could not have done so forever.

She felt a tear come down her face. "I never thought..." She had been alive a very long time, and had spent a long time living in the land of Ooo. "I never thought it would be so hard." She surveyed the Candy Kingdom. Took everything in, that she would always know what it was. "Goodbye, land of Ooo as you are, and as all people know you." Life is not wishes, nor is it subject to them.

She turned, and headed back in, there was much to do. Much preparation to be made for what was coming.

"Princess," The voice came from the inside room. A piece of peppermint was there, composed and calm. He wore a tailcoat, and bore a constant, subtle look of dispassionate lifelessness. He was Peppermint Butler, Princess Bubblegum's butler. "Have you... finished ruminating?"

She nodded to him. "I want the Gumball Guardians to leave the city, and stand by in hiding in the woods. Double the guard at the palace. And have Captain Root Beer Guy come and see me in my office at seven o'clock on the dot. I have orders for him that I can't risk leaking through a buffer."

"Is that all, m'lady?"

She nodded. "For now."

He stepped back into the shadows. "I shall convey your orders posthaste, princess." In the shadows, he vanished.

* * *

Empress Brimstone peered out, to a view overlooking the ocean. She had just awoken from sleeping. She never slept for more than a few hours, and the sun was low in the sky. The viewpoint was outside her bedroom. "Today is the day." She said to herself. "The day it's determined. What will they choose? I wonder."

"Probably war. It's always war." Came a voice behind her.

She turned. Leaning on the back wall of the balcony was a young woman. The right half of her face was completely blacked, and that eye glowed with a dark green light. The other half was mostly metal plating with joints and hydraulics underneath. Very little of her original skin remained. She was Vang Hespiris, a personal assassin, and all around task manager who answered directly to the empress. Brimstone gave her that station a long time ago, once Craw's time became too valuable to have him handly micro tasks for her.

"Brimstone?"

"What is it, Vang?"

"We don't know much about the other continent, is that right?"

"Yes."

"Then, why are we going to war so fast? I mean, we might be able to be peaceful with them."

"That's up to them." She replied calmly. "They'll be warned properly." She held her hand out, facing the fingers upward, as if holding something. "And if they refuse my demands..." She curled her fingers into a fist, as if crushing it. "It'll be war."

"Why not make peace with them anyway? You gotta give a little to make sure it happens, but-" She stepped forward.

"Peace?" She glared out into the distance. "A peace bought with special conditions is nothing but a slow, one-sided war."

"A war where nobody dies."

"And plenty suffer." Brimstone turned at Vang. "Do you think I should never have come to Kasandora, your homeland? I brought war to your people, toppled your government, and conquered your entire homeland." Just as she had done for most of Nugondowan. "You could have died in that conflict, like all the other citizens who were threatened by the chaos I brought. Should I not have done that?" She made it clear to everyone; her enemies and followers alike, that she was personally, and solely responsible for all of the things done by the empire, good or bad.

Vang shook her head. Her face was scrunched, trying to express something too big to get out. "No, Brimstone. You saved us. Our rulers treated us like dirt, and you got rid of them the only way it could have been done. You saved my people. A lot of 'em still don't realize that, but it's true."

Brimstone nodded, then faced the ocean again. Her vision peered across the distance, and her imagination rendered a vivid image of what was about to happen across the sea. "This is happening." She had no doubt. "I don't care for helpless bystanders who cry out that they just want peace, and have no control over their destinies. I don't care for those who are blameless. I don't care for those who point their fingers and declare their objections. Even while they hide, and present nothing of worth from within themselves." She took a step back from the railing, and held out her left arm. A five-foot katana appeared in her hand from nothing. Its blade was red as blood, and bold as fire. "My wish, is that all forces who oppose me, in all that I am, be destruct. I have proven myself better than them. By the power of truth, I have dominated them! And done as I will, in absolute, to the world." She slashed it upward.

A crescent shaped celestial entity, in scaled up proportion to her cut through the air, formed in the sky. It was searing red. Less than a second after it formed, it flashed out, shining like a star and blackening the rest of the sky. It looked like an upside down crescent sun as it burned and crackled. "They think they hold my land's fate in their hands. Today, it will be made known that all they hold is the fate of their own." The land of Nugondowan was something she had put everything she had in order to shape to her own will. And in accordance, the entire continent; all of the different lands, had become a better place by any true standard she found worth acknowledging. And now something came that compromised it.

Compromised her being.

That could not be tolerated. If they chose to violate her purpose, then she would crush them to nothing. She would end their existence. That she, in all that she is, could continue. "The truth will prove me right. It is my will that will shape the destiny of the world."

* * *

Miccs Milkshake had just finished cleaning up, brushing her teeth, and all the hygienic stuff crammed into most people's morning routine. She came out of her room, and found her parents already awake. Ignoring that fact, she headed across the kitchen and living room, toward the door that lead outside.

"Where were you last night?" Called her father. She looked his way in answer to his speaking to her. He was lifting his eyes away from a newspaper, lazily leering at her.

She turned the rest of the way at him. "I was in my bed, sleeping. What kind of question is that?"

"I heard noises last night."

Either he was a very light sleeper, or had a dirty, dirty nose. She shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you. I was asleep."

He jerked in his chair. "Are you getting' smart with me?"

"Dear, your school called." Said her mother, who was washing dishes in the kitchen. She frowned at her, in an act of ganging up along with her father. "They said your attendance has been only two days out of every week, average!"

Her father looked at her with a more committed stare. "What are you doing? Failing school because of attendance. What are you doing?" He said harder.

She didn't have time for this. "I don't have time for this." She turned and headed out the door. "I've got things to do today."

"You better be headin' to school!" Shouted her father.

She pointed her finger in the air as she exited. "I gotta look after my investment!" She slammed the door behind her.

Now outdoors, and alone in the early morning, she took a deep breath. It was time to start her day.

She headed along the street, then into an alleyway. It led to a growing frequency of forks inside an irregular cluster of buildings. She took them them like it was a maze she had memorized, which it kind of was. It ended with coming upon a large shack set up in a large dead end. It used the three buildings next to it for support. There were two doors, a person-sized one off to the side, and another that was a tall gate made of segmented plates.

She came to the single, smaller door off to the side, and took its knob. Then she rattled it violently until she heard and felt a hard thump slam into the door from the other side. With the trap now disarmed, she opened the door. As it opened on its hinges, it pushed away a bowling ball hanging from the ceiling on a chain. She slipped past and let the bowling ball push the door shut. Once inside, she flipped the light switch on, revealing the interior. There was an assortment of toolboxes and ground tools along the back wall. In the center of the single-room shack, there lay a large rectangle shaped object covered with a tarp.

She went to the head of the rectangle and picked up a long handle that went into the bottom. She pulled, and it moved on wheels. A chain hung from the ceiling right next to her. She pulled it, and the big door of the shack opened, being pulled up into the ceiling by a pulley system fit with a strong spring. She pulled the wheeled, rectangular pallet outside. Once it was clear of the door, she went back in through the large opening and pulled the door shut from the inside. It locked into place.

She then went back to the smaller door, and lifted the bowling ball, hanging off a chain. The bowling ball had a metal ring welded to its surface, on the opposite side of where the chain went in. She hooked the metal ring onto a straight, non-curving hook hanging off a mechanism rigged up on the ceiling. Once the bowling ball was in place, she walked out of the smaller people door and shut it behind her, arming the trap again. If somebody barged into the door without knocking, the bowling ball would fall, and swing right into them. The door swung outside when it opened, so there was no chance of it shielding the intruder.

She went back to her covered pallet wagon, and pulled it through the alleyway. She reached a road, and went along that. It was early enough in the morning that nobody was out. She had finished working on this stuff in the afternoon yesterday, and the early morning was the perfect time to move it. Its wheels were rubber, and went over the road easily.

She came upon a street near to the wall. There was a run-down, single story building in a discreet corner of the marketplace. Outside the building were rows of bicycles, chained to their racks and arranged in neat, sorted rows. Miccs left her wheeled pallet in front of the building. She came to the door, and knocked three times in perfectly even sequence. A metal small slide opened on the door, revealing a pair of eyes watching her from inside. The slide shut, and she heard the locks on the door being undone. The door opened, on the other side was a purple gum ball. He lifted an eyebrow. "You here to see JJ?"

She nodded. She had never seen this guy before. He must be new help. "She in?"  
"Yeah," he leaned out the doorway, and checked the outside, then withdrew back in. "Wipe your feet, and turn off your cell phone." He stepped aside to let her in.

She didn't have a cell phone. She went into the building. At the end of a brief hallway was a main room that looked like what used to be a small office area. Miccs headed across, to another door. The next door led to a more open room that looked like a large garage. It was outfitted as such, with toolboxes and welding equipment. It even had hydraulic lifting platforms for working on the bellyside of vehicles. Miccs found who she was looking for by one of the workbenches.

She had a stubby, yet still elongated body with normal looking hair done into a ponytail. Her skin was colored like a rainbow. Her face had a scattered bunch of tiny, numerous holes as eyes, and four small jaws discreetly tucked inside her round face. Her name was Jake Jr. Named after her father, Jake the Dog. She was a unique mixbreed between a rainicorn and a dog. Noticing Miccs come in, she left what she was doing and approached.

"Hello, JJ."

Jake Junior came up and then walked past, patting her on the shoulder. "Walk with me, good buddy."

Miccs walked with her. They headed out of the garage, back into the main room. "Who's your new help?" Miccs asked.

"The gum ball? That's Mike, he's about ten bucks a day."

"That's pretty good." They came out into the main room.

"Let's talk business. You got pears for me?"

Miccs nodded. "Twenty four, rinsed and ready to rock."

"That's a lot. Have you hired help?"

"Nah, just gotten real fast is all."

"I'll take your word for it, but you better not try to screw me on quality."

Miccs ignored that. "I gotta say, you have some serious balls operating in the open in broad daylight."

"Ha, the first thing you learn in this business is that the courts are the only real weapon the law has against you."

"That makes sense."

"Yeah, and it's totally inept if it can't convict beyond a reasonable doubt."

They passed through the hallway and went outside. "That doesn't sound too hard."

"Let me finish, the reasonable doubt of a bunch of simple joes who don't have a reason to be invested."

"I think that's called a jury." They gathered around the pallet.

"And juries love cute little girls. They could never think of me as someone who hawks out pears."

"About my pears." She lifted the tarp off her pallet, revealing a tightly arranged bundle of bicycles. "Fresh painted, with optimized wheels and handlebars, and all rust spotted out. Yours for the usual rate."

"And I'll happily take them off your hands, for seventy percent of that."

Miccs shook her head. "Don't play me, Jake. You won't like what I do."

"What are you gonna do? What other use could you have for all these pears? Selling them to me is your only realistic option."  
They made eye contact. "I'll start my own dealership."

"There are ways to make you regret that."

"And ways to get rid of that reasonable doubt you're so fond of."

She waved a hand off. "Puh, lease. I can play the 'I didn't know it was wrong' card. I'm safe."

"Wrong? That's a funny word. What's it mean?"

"My dad told me about it, it's hilarious." She pat Miccs on the shoulder again. "Alright, I like you, double M, so eighty percent the usual, on grounds of supply and demand."

Miccs looked at all the bikes she already had. "Yeah, that's fair."

Jake Junior headed back inside the building. "Unload them then. Mike'll be out with your cash."

"JJ!" Called Miccs.

She stopped. "Yeah, what?"

"You ever thought of going legitimate?"

She laughed at this. "Pay taxes, and minimum wage? Are you kidding?"

"Well, you could expand, without having to worry about your reasonable doubt."

"I'm gonna do that anyway. Let me worry about the reasonable doubt."

"Well, it just feels like..."

"What, Miccs?"

"It feels like if you don't do it their way, you'll end up shot to death, or dying alone in a bleak little villa, having rotted away."

"Milkshake, I'm gonna get a little serious with you here." She approached her again, and placed her arms on her shoulders. "Real life isn't like that. You need to realize that stories you see in books and movies are made by other people. And other people have agendas. I know what I'm doing. I know everything I'm doing, and I know everything it effects. And I'm at peace with all of it." She smiled, taking her hands off. "Live your life, and stop worrying."

She nodded. "I've almost scraped enough parts for a heavy pair."

Jake Junior smiled at this. "You be sure to bring it here, I'll put it up as a specialty item."

"You and me, we'll do business together a long time."

She raised an arm, facing up at the sky. "You'll build the best two-wheelers ever seen. And I'll spread them to every corner of the world."

Miccs laughed out loud. It probably wouldn't happen, but their dreaming, it was healthy, she was certain of it.

The sun became visible on the horizon. They didn't see it directly through the walls, but its light was undeniable.

* * *

Princess Bubblegum heard the pinata on the ceiling announce the arrival of Finn and Jake. Good, she thought. Her letter reached one of them. They came through the hall, and stopped a distance from her. At the foot of a case of stairs. She got up from her throne. "Thank you for coming, Finn, Jake." She began to pace. "Something serious is about to go down."

"Whatever you need, tell us what's up." Said Jake.

"Anything for you, PB." Said Finn, smiling. He looked tired and unkept. She deduced that he didn't get much sleep last night.

She ignored this. She herself didn't sleep at all last night. "I need you guys to be here for it. It..." She was keeping them here for something that might change the course of their lives forever. But it was happening, their presence or not their presence here. "You guys, something is going to happen, soon."

"You don't look at ease." Said Jake. "And why aren't your gumball guardians at their normal posts?"

She'd told them to relocate last night. "Don't worry about it."

"Princess, just tell us what you need." Said Finn. "I'm ready for anything."

"Okay, this is some heavy stuff you guys, and it might sound like it's coming out of nowhere." She inhaled. "There is another land, on the other side of the ocean from Ooo. We used to be divided by a giant natural barrier, but not anymore."

"You mean Nugondowan?" Said Finn.

Practically nobody in Ooo was supposed to know the other continent existed, much less what its inhabitants called it. "Finn, how do you know this?"

"I met this guy who said he was from there."

She had to take this into account. They might already be scouting in the land of Ooo. But then why would one of them openly tell someone where he's from? She decided to put it aside. "Okay, so listen. An ambassador from a foreign country, in that faraway continent is coming today. I want you two to be here for it, in case something happens."

"Is it the Brimstone Empire?" Said Finn.

Princess Bubblegum put up her hands, as if to say 'just hold it.' "Finn, who could possibly tell you all this stuff?" She felt like an unprecedented bubble of impossibility was bouncing into her patch from the Finn-verse.

"I told you, it was this guy who came from that place."

"Where did you meet him, exactly?"

Finn indicated outside. "We first met in town, he was making some kind of map."

"What! You didn't even think to stop him? Do you know what espionage is, Finn?"

Finn waved off with his hands. "He said he worked for you. I didn't ask further."

Bubblegum pinched her forehead. "Okay, it's fine. Can I count on you two being here for the diplomatic thing?"

"You sure it's gonna be shenanigans?" Said Jake.

It was to come at a precise time. She was certain of it. "Yes, I'm sure."

"Then why don't we just go after them right now?" Said Finn.

"Because they haven't made the first move yet. It's complicated, but we can't be the aggressors."

Jake seemed to understand, but Finn had to come to grips with it.

"Finn, Jake, I have a plan to deal with it if things go rough, but I need you two for it to work."

They both nodded, agreeing to go with her plan.

* * *

Flame Princess walked with energy through the forest path. She was eager to get home. King Rudy tailed at her side, having no trouble keeping up, in spite of his frailness. "So," she said to him. "That book about you, how much of it is true?"

"Is it called The Story of King Rudy?"

"Yes, that's exactly its name."  
"All of it, then. I wrote it."

"Really?" The book was in Nugondowan. "Was your kingdom in Nugondowan?" It would make sense, to seal up the Sky Crystal in another continent from the kingdom, to keep people who knew of it from finding it.

"New Gondowan? My dear lady, Gondowana is a continent that existed millions of years ago. My kingdom was located at the continent of Nuwafrika, as it was called six hundred years ago. I think the name got corrupted over time... I have no motive to go back, really. I'm sure everyone I know is gone."

She felt bad for him. "That's really sad, Rudy. But don't worry, you'll make new friends at the Fire Kingdom."

He grinned with a noticable lack of teeth. "That's nice and everything, but what I'd much rather have is a purpose. You're gonna put me to work, right?"

"Well, what can you do?"

"Just about anything in the business. I used to be a king, you know."

"Such as?" She had to ask. It was likely things are done differently in the Fire Kingdom."

He held out a hand and five fingers. Then pointed on each fingers in turn like a maid applying for a housekeeping job by listing various custodial skills. "I can train your soldiers, inspect your officials, do internal investigation on corruption, write up policies for your bureaucrats to operate more efficiently, oversee development projects, and also I cook a mean bowl of noodles."

Good finisher, she thought. "I think you're someone I can really use. Someone I can talk to, make plans with."

He laughed, low-key and rough, yet cheerfully. They rounded over a hill, and got a bit of a view of the further trail. "We can sit down at a table and get out some blueprints, with cups of coffee."

"Consider yourself hired, I'll start you out in the interior administration."

"That's fine. I suppose I'm too frail to do things for the military side of things."

"That, and I already have Cinnamon Bun in the military. He's good, helped me overthrow my father."

"Yes, I saw that, when I held the Sky Crystal."

She had it in her hand still. She hadn't tried to use it since leaving Sky Mountain. She needed to get to the bottom of him using it on her. "Rudy, I need to know everything you saw when you used the crystal on me."

He thought for a moment, then nodded. "Only the things having to do with your father. There's actually... I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but..."

"What?"

"There wasn't much to see. That is, compared to other people I've looked into."

She'd spent most of her life in a prison cell. This fact hit her again, and she felt depressed, and angry at her father. She felt a hand push on her arm. She looked at Rudy, and he had a look that said, 'listen to me'.

"You are a fine young woman, Flame Princess. Considering how you were treated in your childhood, I can say without doubt that when those wounds have closed, you'll be a giant, an aspiration to everyone."

She lowered her head a bit, her eyes shut, then quickly, she moved it back up again. "You sure have a lot of faith in me."

He shook his head. "Not faith, I see it in you. It is as clear as the sun in the sky."

* * *

Gates spotted Craw coming into the city. He came out of leaning on a building along the main road and walked alongside him. "Craw, you're late."

"I already know that, Gates. There's no need for redundancies." He looked at Gates, smiling knowingly. "Unless you're trying to trigger an epiphany in me with your words."

Gates shook his head. "This is a precise timing operation. You wouldn't want to become incompetent, would you?"

"Are we going to be on time?"

"Yes, barely."

"Then we're good. Now, more importantly, what's our backup?"

"What makes you think we're getting backup?"

Craw chuckled as they walked along the main road. "I'm technically a general, I know how a joint operation works, Gates."

Gates chuckled in turn. "Every other person I've known with that rank is solemn and refined. You... lack such an effect." They came upon the stairway of the candy palace. "we're going to go see the princess..."

"Yeah, is this really necessary? I'm not a big fan of diplomacy."

Gates shook his head. "Just because our homeland was full of crooked, dishonest negotiators, doesn't give us the right to prejudge these people."

Craw looked at him. "You've changed your stance on the matter, then?"

Gates went up the stairs. "More of a change of heart. If war is necessary, then it's necessary. But that doesn't mean we can't treat one another with humanity on every other front. I like to think of it as an antidote, slowing the degenerative process created by war."

Craw followed up the steps closely. "I think such a standpoint falls under chivalry."

They entered the front door, coming into the main hall. There was a pinata hanging off the ceiling. It spoke aloud as soon as they crossed into the room. "Announcing the arrival of Gates Van Duke, and... associate."

Craw looked at Gates again. "You gave someone your name?"

"Hush, Craw."

They came through the hall. Sitting on the throne in the end of the large hall was Princess Bubblegum. Finn was at her right hand, and Jake at her left. The silent Peppermint Butler stood off to the side. She spoke. "You are the representatives of the Brimstone Empire?"

Gates stepped forward. Craw had seen him do this before, he was in ambassador mode. "Your highness is truly well informed. Indeed, I, and my associate here come as representatives of the Brimstone Empire, hailing from the continent of Nugondowan, which lies across the ocean."

Princess Bubblegum spoke. "Welcome to the Kingdom of Candy, Ambassador Gates Van Duke. Your nation is recognized. Now, what is it you wish to discuss?"

"Nothing, actually. It is not I who wishes to speak with you about it, but our ruler, Karas Brimstone herself." He reached his hoofs into a satchel hanging at his side, and placed a wide, flat metal box in the middle of the floor. He stepped to the left side of it. Craw, in turn, took its right. The metal box opened two wings, and the opened area projected a light into the air.

* * *

Finn was standing at Princess Bubblegum's right. He saw a scaled up image of a face appear in the air. The face was that of a woman. Her hair was full and thick, and colored a heavily saturated red that seemed to skip any presumption of being parallel to fire, and go straight to pure, constant, and unconditional immolation without a hint of yellow in its pigment. Her skin was the color of charcoal, smooth as a cut gem, and matte as natural stone without any hint of a glimmer. But it was her eyes that Finn stopped at. They gave him the same sense he felt when he encountered the giant reptile at Sky Mountain. That something far bigger than him had made its presence known. He was glad her attention was focused on Princess Bubblegum, and not him. Her lips parted to speak. "You are Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum, of the Candy Kingdom?"

Princess Bubblegum stood up, meeting her gaze. "And you are Empress Brimstone, of the Brimstone Empire."

The projected face continued. "I hope you'll understand my preference for plain speaking. I wish to get straight to the point."

Bubblegum nodded. "That's fine by me."

Brimstone nodded as well, slightly, subtly. "I present to you, three options."

"What are they?"

"The first, is that you open the Floodgate. You know of what I speak. If you do this, then our nations will have peace. I will ensure, that if there is ever an intercontinental war, Brimstone will not be the aggressor."

Finn looked at Princess Bubblegum, and was surprised to see that her face was serious. Nothing about her was reserved. All of her intellect, and all of her willpower was present, and impossible not to notice. It overwhelmed him, just as Brimstone's did. He looked back at her, then at Bubblegum. And he realized, this was like if the giant reptile had fought against another of its kind; a clash of giants.

Princess Bubblegum continued. "And if I refuse to open the Floodgate, you will make war on the Candy Kingdom?"

Empress Brimstone shook her head. "I will make war on all of Ooo. I will burn, and suppress, and turn upside down every square centimeter of your entire continent, until the Floodgate is found."

He heard Princess Bubblegum swallow. "And... what is the third option?"

"That the war be settled immediately, with no damage. Craw!"

Craw stepped forward, and removed his hood.

She continued. "This is Craw the Human, my strongest retainer. If you can produce a warrior who can defeat him in combat, then there will be peace on your terms. If Craw wins, however, you must open the Floodgate."

"And what if the loser does not honor the terms?" She was looking at Craw.

"We're both on our honor regarding that."

Finn knew he didn't stand a chance against Craw, who had a vast gap of experience from him.. Maybe Jake, if Craw didn't get the jump on him? His mind went ahead, that was a slippery prospect. Flame Princess! Flame Princess beat Craw once, maybe she could do it again? The fight concerned all of Ooo, her kingdom would be under threat from a war. She would have no reason not to get involved.

No, he thought. Asking her to handle something he was too weak to accomplish? He stepped forward, facing Bubblegum. "Princess, I volunteer to fight him."

She turned at him. "Finn, that guy is a monster. He'll kill you without a second thought."

"What..?" He'd hung out with him before, and he couldn't imagine him like that. "How do you know?"

"Finn, I've gathered intelligence on Nugondowan, and this guy's name is almost well-known there as Empress Brimstone. You can seldom bring her up without also mentioning him. He's ruthless, and has no sense of order or decency. He killed a corrupt official on the spot, Finn, no trial, in the middle of a social gathering, then he nailed his body to a wall for all to see. This reputation is matched only by that of his military record. He's fought against armies vastly stronger than his own force by any statistic, and won." She shook her head. "I can't send you against him, Finn." She turned back to Empress Brimstone. "I've made a decision."

"What is your answer?"

"I have no right to involve the other nations of Ooo in a war. I'll open the Floodgate."

"Whoa, hold on a sec." Jake stepped forward. "It isn't PB's fault if there's a war, it's yours!" He pointed at the projection of Karas Brimstone.

She moved her gaze upon him. "You are precisely correct, little dog. It would be my war." She stated it plainly, without any reservation nor exaggeration.

"It's alright, Jake." Princess Bubblegum turned back to the projection. "There's no need for a war, I'll open the Floodgate."

Empress Brimstone said nothing in reply. She just looked at Princess Bubblegum. Minutes ticked by, all interchangeable. Until finally, Brimstone's lips parted to speak. "Craw, kill her, now!"


	10. Blackened Fantasia

"Craw, kill her, now!"

Finn had only a tiny window to protect Princess Bubblegum from Craw's decisive strike. An instant; less than an instant, his sword was out, and it was clashed with Craw's. Whose right arm sword was held back by Jake wrapping around that arm. Finn's grass blade barely dug the tiniest of notches into Craw's left hand sword, but he was able to stop it.

The princess was still alive.

Craw defeated them both atop Sky Mountain, but they weren't his target this time, and that gave them an edge.

Craw let go of his left hand sword, and grabbed Jake. Then, with a strength and speed that appeared physically impossible, he vaulted Jake's entire mass into Finn, and they both went tumbling down the side of the staircase leading up to the throne. Finn wrestled his way out of Jake's confused mass just in time to see Craw's sword come down on Princess Bubblegum.

"No!"

There was a flash, and he heard a sonic boom emanate from that location. The next thing Finn Saw was Craw back flipping through the air, and landing on his feet in the main floor. Gates and the projection of Empress Brimstone were gone.

In front of Princess Bubblegum, was a kneeling robot whom Finn recognized. The robot stood up, and leveled his sword at Craw. "I, Sir Rattleballs, shall be your opponent!"

Finn smiled at this. Craw was in for it now.

Rattleballs turned to Finn. "Finn, Jake, get the Princess out of here!"

* * *

After the order was given, and Craw struck out at Bubblegum, Gates turned to Brimstone. She looked down at him from the projection. Gates spoke: "Is it to begin?"

She nodded. "I hereby authorize the invasion of the Candy Kingdom." The projection vanished.

Gates got down on all fours and dashed out of the hall. As soon as he was outside, with exposure to open sky, he took out a small, yet two-handed gun, and fired it into the air. The projectile rocketed to a high altitude, then exploded into a purple flare.

* * *

Craw looked to the left, and saw his mark, the princess, fleeing deeper into the palace. The door sealed shut behind her. He moved his gaze back on the robot who stopped him. He looked like an upside down gumball dispenser, with mechanical arms and legs, and the normal components of a dispenser re-purposed into facial features. He carried a rapier in his right hand. Craw brought his sword up in a wide uppercut, backing the swing with two coordinated steps forward. The slice unleashed an almost sphere-shaped wave of force. It tore a fissure in the floor, the stairs, the walls, and even the ceiling. There was the sound of a large cannon being dry fired, and the area around the robot was unharmed. He was in a stance implying the aftermath of a heavy stroke, which he normalized with poise.

He called himself Sir Rattleballs. Craw threw off his cloak, and spoke to his new opponent. "You may call me Craw, the Human." He took a fresh sword out of his caddy, re-arming his left hand. "And you're in my way!" He pointed a sword at him, and a narrow space past its point began to blur. The next instant, the sword was buried in the headpiece of the empty throne in front of which Rattleballs stood. He'd ducked, dodging the projectile. He stood straight again. "My move." He sped up into a fast, gravity defying motion that went above Craw. Craw swung another wind blade at him while he was airborne. It had no effect, Rattleballs came down on him in a downward stab. That hit nothing but air and the floor. Craw slowed down to reappear behind Rattleballs, and struck him in the back. The blow met with his sword, lifted behind him with a mechanical flexibility possible only to a robot. Craw walked backward into a newly formed blur, and reappeared next to the door Princess Bubblegum fled the throne room through. He buried the fingers of his free hand into the door, and tore it out out its housing. Then he wheeled it around and pitched it at a pursuing Rattleballs. It flew at him with a velocity as though shot out of a cannon. Rattleballs sliced in half when it reached him. When the halves of the door cleared, Craw was already gone.

* * *

Root Beer Guy was manning the walls, along with the bulk of the Banana Guard. He had been ordered to be ready to defend the city from an immediate attack. One of his men pointed out to him, and he turned and saw a purple flare above the city. He didn't know what it meant, and so he went back to watching the road for any sign of an attack. The gates were sealed shut, and all civilians were told to stay in their homes.

The day had become cloudy and dim. And now it had gradually come to feel even darker.

Root Beer guy saw a shape appear in the distance, It was in the sky. The shape vivified, and what he saw it gradually become was something he had no frame of reference to comprehend. It flew, like a bird, it was giant, like the mountains on the horizon, and it had a loud, consistent roar, like the inside of a mill.

It came closer.

Now he saw it was made of metal. And there were giant propellers along its entire shape that produced the roaring sound. It was long, and impossibly wide and tall for an airship, with no wings to speak of. It passed over them, helping to damp out what little daylight remained in the sky. Stopping over the city, it ignited spotlights, at least fourty, to shine down on the city. It was the middle of the day, but the titanic airship's dark figure and its superfluous use of spotlights produced a sense of descending into an unnatural night.

It was only his training, and his objective faculty that pushed Root Beer Guy out of shock and awe, and made him realize what was about to happen. The walls they were manning had become pointless. In fact, they had become a liability, trapping them in the city. He looked left, and right, at the guards. All of their eyes were fixed on the alien behemoth above. He shouted out. "Everyone! Get to the city center, now!" He got some of their attention, and repeated the order. It took a short, yet unbearably long time to get the order out, but eventually, all of them began hastily filing into the walls, heading back into the city.

He peered down at the city center. It was a long shot, and truly unlikely to work, but maybe, just maybe he could buy time.

The airship lowered cables along its entire belly, arranged in quads. Large containers lowered themselves along the cables, descending safely to the ground. Root Beer Guy's hunch was right. It was a transport.

* * *

When Miccs Milkshake saw the airship, she ran, looking for the nearest place of cover. As she ran through the city, she began hearing the sound of fighting, and gunshots. She saw Banana guards run past her, heading toward the city center. They ignored her, concentrated on their mission. She ran more frantically, looking desperately for somewhere to hide.

She found an alley dumpster, and didn't even stop to consider how awful it probably smelled inside. Pushing open the flap, she hoisted herself inside.

As she sat in the dumpster, she heard the fighting get louder, closer. Her curiosity began to win over her fear, and she peeked open the dumpster flap. She saw a squad of banana guards out on the street. Then she heard a savage volley of gunshots, and they all went down in a matter of a single second. The footsteps that advanced to that position came into her view.

Metallic armor plating, with mechanical servos visible in the separation between the plates. Backpack sections with protruding gears and exhausts, implying clockwork mechanisms. They were humanoid, and carried large, two handed guns with full-bladed bayonets. Their faces were gas masks, and all that could be seen of their eyes was a glowing red from behind round glass plates. One of them stopped, and turned its head in her direction.

She dropped her head back down, and sat low. Her feet pushed against the garbage beneath her, as if to try to bury herself further in.

* * *

Princess Bubblegum still had Finn and Jake with her. They had reached her underground testing lab, and the palace was going into complete lockdown. She went to the surveillance terminal, and saw the giant airship above the city. She remained put, her teeth clenched, and her head down, darkening the top half of her face. "If only... if only I had more time."

"What is wrong with that Brimstone lady?" Jake exclaimed. "PB was going to give her what she wanted, so why?"

"That's irrelevant now." Said Bubblegum as she faced them. "Do you two understand what's to come? I need to be sure that you do."

"Finn's not all grown up yet." Remarked Jake, looking her in the eyes with a knowing gaze. "I think I know what your plan is, though."

She nodded. "We can't save the Candy Kingdom now." She went over to a section of the wall, and placed her hand on it. The featureless section of wall read her hand, and it opened, revealing a secret room. The room was a narrow staircase suspended in a hallway not like any other part of the candy palace. Its entire structure was made from shining metal, adorned with exquisitely shaped seams between the plates. It was brightly lit. She turned at Finn and Jake. "I need you both to get out of here. I'm taking this journey alone."

"What!" said Finn, "what do you mean run away? You're talking as if we can't beat them."

"Finn, I..."

"This is all a load of beorc! We can't just give up."  
"I'm not giving up, Finn."

"Are you staying here?"  
"Yes."

"Then you're asking me to abandon you." He had a hand on his heart. "I can't do that, princess, I swore myself to you, one hundred percent."

* * *

That man threatened the princess, and that could not be allowed nor forgiven. Rattleballs caught up to him along a hallway, the outer wall of which overlooked the outside. He closed the distance quickly, and struck him from behind.

Craw ducked, dodging the blow, he wheeled around and counterattacked.

Rattleballs used his secret technique at point-blank range, unleashing an unstoppable instance of raw force from his blade.

When it passed, Craw reappeared in front of him, unscathed. He became semi-transparent, and still as stone. More semi-transparent stills appeared in different spots, all of them in different postures. None of them moved.

Rattleballs caught the real Craw, and parried his attack as the stills began to vanish. That same instant, he was struck from behind. The sword blow dug through his body, another still image disappeared as another blow struck him in the same area, and he was taken off his feet. _Impossible_ , he thought. There was nobody else in the corridor.

He flew out of the opening that ran along the side of the hall, and fell into the ground outside. On impact, with collusion to his wound, his body broke in half.

* * *

"Then do what I ask, Finn." Princess Bubblegum grabbed his shoulders. "I don't need you to understand right away, but you need to do this. Jake will help you escape. You're my backup plan, Finn." She indicated upward, outside. "That airship is only the tip of the iceberg. More, much more is on its way." She held his gaze inside her own. "Flee, to the farthest reaches of Ooo, grow stronger, and find a way, your own way, to fight against Brimstone." She had to bend over so their faces would be level. "Brimstone must be stopped. I don't know how Nugondowan still supports life, but anything that comes from it is cursed." Her face held in disciplined reserve, a genuine terror. "As you are now, I can't use you."

This sent waves down Finn's being. Of the same nature he felt when he realized Flame Princess thought less of him.

"She's right, Finn the Human." The voice was Craw's. "Your only chance is to escape."

Finn turned around, and saw him walking into the room. He drew his grass blade. "You!"

"Me..."

He couldn't contain his outrage. "Why? Why is your empress doing this? There could have been peace!"

Craw wore a solemn look on his face, his eyes pierced into Finn. "Don't be thick in front of me, Finn. Where do you think complaining is going to get you?" His blade moved with his hand, deliberately, methodically. "We're in the business of war, now. If you can't handle that then let Darwin feast on your fluffy soul."

"Is that what you tell yourself?" Finn rebutted. "Do you think that maybe your master is evil? That you're following her blindly?"

Craw shrugged. "A better question would be, what does your princess tell herself?" He looked past, at her. "That she actually didn't lie just to stall for time?"

"You're here to kill me." Said Princess Bubblegum. "Do you seriously think I care what you have to say?"

Craw looked down, smiling. "You're right. That was childish, I apologize." He took a few steps forward. "I haven't been ordered to kill you, Finn, Leave now, and I won't pursue you."

"What happened to Rattleballs?" Said Finn, realizing he should be here by now if he was chasing Craw.

"I killed him."

Finn lost his temper, beyond all control, and beyond all reason. He charged at Craw, sword drawn.

"Finn, no!" shouted Bubblegum.

Finn's connection with the time blade technique had waxed since learning it, his speed increased, and he closed the distance betwixt he and Craw in only a few seconds.

What happened next could only be recollected as confusion. A searing pain enveloped his entire upper body. And he found himself face-down on the floor.

Through the agony, he tried to push himself face-up, but his right arm couldn't push with near enough force to even shift his body. He moved on to his left arm, and found it still answered. With what felt like all his strength, he flipped himself. The motion caused unspeakable pain. It also spread to his head and gut. When his back hit the floor, it felt wet, and warm. His hearing felt muffled, his vision was blurry, and waves of nausea assaulted his conscious faculty. He felt the grass blade tighten around the area just past his right shoulder.

Then the world went black.

* * *

That was what it took, she realized, to finally make her snap out of the peaceful, happy existence she had spent so long living in. The sight of Finn, on the floor. His blood formed into a large puddle. She doubted he even heard himself howling in pain. Seeing him like this broke her heart, held it in the grip of cold, sharpened blades. All of the citizens of the Candy Kingdom were like her children, and Finn had a special place in her heart.

She saw Jake dash ahead, roaring with rage. He was as a giant wolf, bristling with muscle, with thicker front legs than back. He shook the building with each rapid step. His rows of teeth ready to chomp down on Craw, whose sword was wet with Finn's blood.

He timed it wrong, and missed. Craw slid underneath and uppercut across his entire body, causing him to slam into the high ceiling. A deep cut dug across his entire underbelly.

Craw continued to advance at her, his face was calm, perhaps even joyous. "Do you understand, princess of Ooo?" Jake fell onto the floor behind him, limp. "War is slaughter, a weapon is to kill, and the only power is the power to destroy." He dashed up close to her, and delivered a killing blow.

Princess Bubblegum squeezed a trigger, and a blast shot out of the weapon in her hand. Its scattered projectiles hit Craw point-blank as he was about to cut her down. The force knocked him back and left him laying on the floor. She spoke to him. "You have done what no force on earth would dare." She heard herself different. Her voice echoed through the hall, her face was practically transformed by raw emotion railing against its cage. It was as if all her intellect, all her insight in the ways of the world, was being pushed onto her face by raw, unbridled rage. "You have kindled my wrath!" She saw Jake get back on his feet, he was still alive. He ran over to Finn, and carried him away in his mouth. Craw was back on his feet. He produced an array of semi-transparent selves, all held perfectly still, and all in a position of being about to strike.

She stepped back into the metal hallway and shut the blast door, sealing herself in, and everything else out. She felt powerful vibration, like that of a hundred tonne battering ram, slam into the alloy door. It held, but this surprised, and terrified her, a human shouldn't be capable of producing such force.

She turned, and went up the stainless steel steps. They led to a tiny chamber with a capsule protruding from the floor in a cone shape. She touched an amulet she was wearing, and spoke to it. "Gumball Guardians, activate."

* * *

Hearing the call of their controller, the Gumball Guardians awoke. They got on their feet, and towered over the forest. Their gaze moved to the Candy Kingdom, and they saw the titanic airship. This set off their alert. The Candy Kingdom was in danger. They activated their long range weapons, but hesitated before firing. Their programming prohibited the endangerment of the kingdom, and shooting the airship down while it was above the city would undoubtedly cause a huge amount of damage.

Their programming became assaulted my an override. It was a precise order of where to shoot the airship. The danger they believed it presented to the kingdom became irrelevant. Their directive came, and they obeyed. They charged their energy weapons, and fired upon the airship.

* * *

Flame Princess awoke in a chamber of pitch black. There was no clue as to where she was. The walls were glass, and the chamber was round. It was the exact shape of the lamp she was kept in most of her life. Beyond the glass was all stone. She wandered in circles, letting her natural light illuminate her surroundings, but it was all monotonous stone wall past the glass. One other thing of note was that her crown was gone, and so was her armor, leaving a plain dress. Her Sky Crystal was also gone.

The one spot she hadn't checked was the top, where the lamp breathed. But even her highest jump did not push her light beyond the sides of a round shaft. All above was still dark.

She couldn't increase her volume, or burn brighter. Such was the design of the lamp prison. When a flame burned, it had to suck in fresh air to sustain itself. And only so much air could come in through the top hole at a time. It was the perfect prison for a fire elemental. There was a precise limit to how much she could fire up before beginning to suffocate.

She tried to remember how she ended up in here. She remembered walking through the pass, and being eager to return to her homeland. But beyond that, it was all blank.

She heard the sound of metallic creaking from the top of the prison. And a handful of rocks dropped through, landing on the floor with a resounding clank. She approached them and found that they were coal. Anything that could provide energy for a fire was potential food for a fire elemental, but coal was barely palletable. It produced so much waste that didn't want to burn. Yet still, it was sustenance, she could live off of it.

* * *

Jake had made it to the forest outside the city. Finn was held in his mouth. He saw the gumball guardians ahead of him fire energy blasts in the direction the airship. Then he looked back and saw the shots land a direct hit on the airship, causing it to shift unnaturally. The impact area had burst into flame, it lost stability, turning and losing altitude, and then crashed into the candy palace in the center of the city.

Jake turned away from this scene. He had to get his little brother somewhere safe, somewhere his wounds could be treated. Nothing else mattered right now. He ran through the woods. They were darkened by the cloudy day, and the trees made it more dark. It was as if the world couldn't decide whether it was day or night, and had chosen a middle ground.

Jake considered where to go. He emerged to the open fields of grass. In the distance, he saw their house. It was a familiar, comfortable place. Seeing it brought him a sense of homely security. There was a cold wind, and his wound was acting up. Going in there, where it was warm and cozy, then kicking back and taking it easy, he desperately wanted to be able to do this.

He heard something approach in the woods behind him. Relentless pounding of footsteps. They got louder, and louder with each passing second. He knew they had firearms, and he knew what firearms could do.

He resumed running, out in the open grass field, ignoring the cold and ignoring his wound. They couldn't catch up to him, if they did, he was done. He passed by their home. A home that was no longer safe.

* * *

Root Beer Guy had led a concentrated assault into the city center. Against all odds, he was able to rout the enemy in that area. It turned out that Banana guards had skin tough enough to not be pierced by bullets, and soft innards capable of absorbing their impact. Small arms fire was painful, and heavier bullets could knock them over, but overall, they could fight the enemy troops. He had retaken the city center, the enemy's drop-off zone, and established a makeshift field camp there.

He knew the enemy wouldn't waste manpower breaking into homes, as the Banana Guard all used melee weapons, there was no need to take cover from them. His biggest worry had been morale; the psychological effect the enemy soldiers would have on his men, their metal bodies, gas masks and glowing red eyes looked terrifying. But now they'd won a skirmish against them, proving they weren't unstoppable monsters.

But they were still all over the city. And he had to assume they were hammering the gates of the palace. Plus the airship still loomed overhead. With this situation, he made the call to continue their advance toward the palace, and ensure the princess' safety. The order was already given, and they were gathering and organizing for the next attack. He wished he'd planned for a situation like this. The Banana Guard were police, their command structure wasn't meant for operating in a warzone. If it was, then preparation would go more smoothly, and their next assault could commence a lot sooner.

He looked up, and saw the airship get hit by a pair of energy blasts from outside the walls. The hulking mass erupted into flame in the area it was hit, then, after a brief struggle to regain control of itself, it crashed into the palace. The ship was as large as the palace, if not larger. And so it crushed on the entire building, collapsing it and bathing the rubble with flame. Root Beer Guy was frozen by the sight of this.

He dropped to his knees. What had happened? He asked himself. What had just happened? No matter how many times he asked himself, the only answer he received was the sight of destruction before him.

"Captain, what do we do?"

He barely heard the voice. Did it even matter now? Could the princess have possibly survived that? If she didn't, then could the kingdom continue to exist? His mind became bombarded with questions.

"Captain!"

He could vaguely see several banana guards put up white flags. He turned around, away from the palace, heard his own heartbeat, measured his own breath, felt the air on his face. Felt the world. He lifted his head, and inhaled. "Everyone! We're retreating!"

His voice was loud, and resonant across the entire camp, across the entire city even. He stood still for a moment, only a moment, then he ran, away from the palace, and toward the gate leading out of the city. He heard the Banana guard following right behind him. He didn't know what he was doing, but the situation was well beyond the stage of knowing or not.

He approached the gate, and a horde of enemy troops had gathered to stop them. They stood between them and salvation. Root Beer Guy didn't slow down, he leveled his saber at the enemy, "charge!"

The enemy unleashed a volley of rifle blasts into them. Several banana guards went down, but the rest, unfazed, continued the charge. Root Beer Guy looked past the gate, and saw the gumball guardians in the distance. He saw their heads get blown up by explosions from an unseen source. Their lifeless bodies fell, and the horizon ahead darkened, reddened. They didn't have much time.

He, and his line collided with the enemy force. He went in headfirst, running through their heavy, armored bodies with his smaller figure. A bayonet swipe came at his head. He ducked, dodging the deadly blow, and didn't slow in his run. The gate came into view through the crowd. The drawbridge was rising shut. He ran faster, and cleared the crowd, running up the bridge as it rose, steepened. Realizing there was no way he could reach the top in time, he dropped his saber and took out two handguns. Guns were forbidden in the Candy Kingdom for anyone to carry, but earlier that day, when he was given the mission to protect the city, he took them out of his antique cabinet and loaded them each with a bullet and powder. He fired them each at the two bases where the chains attached to the drawbridge. The shots connected, and broke both the screw rings where the chains attached. The drawbridge fell back down, and let out a resounding slam on impact. The vibration made him almost lose his footing.

Dozens of banana guards charged past him, escaping into the wilderness. They'd broken through the enemy formation. He joined the flight, and they scattered out of the city and into the wilderness.

They ran for what felt like hours, heading for the nearby mountains. They passed by an overhead view on one of the now destroyed gumball guardians. Root Beer Guy looked back at the city, and saw three more giant airships appear overhead, replacing the one that had been shot down. Seeing this terrified him, with the prospect of what would have happened if they'd stayed, or if their escape had been delayed. His hunch was right, defending the city was a lost cause. But in the wilderness, they could regroup, and maybe warn the other kingdoms.

His wife was still in the city. But she was a civilian, he didn't see the enemy target anything non-military during the fighting, so he could assume she would be all right.

But the princess...

He clenched his teeth, looking at the ground. They would escape, he thought as he went back to running through the woods.

But they had lost.

* * *

Finn the Human felt so very human. He was in agony, his entire upper body felt a merciless throbbing. His entire body felt weak, and he drifted in and out of a dreamless sleep. His waking moments were spent in an unfocused, inept mindset he didn't have the energy to concentrate out of. His right arm felt cold, lifeless, a kind of unpleasantness associated with feeling numb.

He felt himself in a comfortable spot, though, and he no longer felt too cold. His eyes didn't want to open, but from feeling, he found he was in bed, and under covers. He felt a hand come around the back of his head, and lift it gently, then the rim of a bowl pushed into his lips.

"Finn? You need to drink this, come on now."

The voice was familiar, but he couldn't find a name through the haze in his mind. It was female, older than him, but still young, a voice, and person with an aesthetic he associated with the phrase: big sister. He pushed air out to speak, it was difficult. "Marceline?"

"Yeah," the voice replied. "You need to drink at least some of this." She tipped the bowl, pouring its content into his mouth. "I made it myself!"

He took it in, and swallowed, bit by tiny bit. It was hot, and tasted good. "What is it?"

"Food, and water combined; soup. You've been out for half the night."

"Where am I?"

"In my house. Don't worry, you're safe here." She rubbed on his head playfully. "Just get some more rest."

"What happened to Jake?" His memory of what happened had come back. Everything that happened before the agony began, then the blackout.

His right arm didn't let up on its relentless numb feeling, it became even more prominent than the pain in his upper body. He moved his left hand over to feel it, but Marceline stopped him, gripping his wrist.

She spoke: "Jake dropped you off here. He said he had to go make sure Lady Rainicorn, and their kids were alright."

He pushed against her, trying to get his left hand to his other arm. "Marceline, please." He needed to know.

She held for a moment. "Just... don't go into shock, okay?" She let his hand go.

He felt his right arm, and felt nothing but a stubby lump, wrapped with bandages, and squeezed shut by a wide belt clamp. He moved his hand up the length from the the lump, and reached his shoulder. His breathing became uneven and sporadic. The lump was less than a foot from his shoulder. As the reality manifested into his mind, he felt tears come down his face.

Marceline dug both her hands under him, and hugged him tight. "It's okay, Finn, it's alright, just don't... don't..."

What? He thought, don't do what? Feel pain? He opened his eyes, and saw her. She looked the same as always; pale skin, thick, black hair, and the tendency to levitate. She was a vampire. "I'm a mortal, Marceline." He saw her face, and tried to smile at her. "This kind of thing comes with the territory, you know?"

She put her feet on the floor, and stood straight. Her face was serious. "Who did this to you, Finn?"  
The terrible memory emerged in his thoughts, fresher than ever. Rattleballs was dead, Jake was badly hurt, his arm... and Princess Bubblegum..." He looked at Marceline's face, saw what she meant to do. An image appeared in his imagination, an image of her ending up the same way. He shook his head. "Please, don't go after him. I don't want you to end up..." In his sleepy mindset, his imagination got ahead of him. The image of Marceline getting hurt, or killed became vivid. His head tightened, and he felt about to break into sobbing.

Immediately, she put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Finn. Nothing bad's gonna happen to me. I'm the Vampire Queen!"

Finn should have seen it sooner. What kind of person Craw was; his dark outlook, his calculating approach to everything, his defending of the character of someone who would invade the Candy Kingdom and try to have PB killed. What Bubblegum told him about him. Finn's anger at him was matched only by his newfound fear. He looked at Marceline, "he's a monster, Marceline. Not like the wild creatures who populate dungeons, or you. But a truly monstrous person." He shook his head. "I don't want you to go after him, I don't want you to fight him, Marceline, please."

Marceline sobered. "Jake had a bad cut on him, was that from..?"

Finn nodded. "I think so, also, Rattleballs..." Rattleballs was supposed to be a secret agent, but Marceline knew plenty enough things to know who he was, and that he was a master swordsbot.

She sighed. "All right, Finn. I can't leave you alone here anyway." She levitated over to the kitchen. Finn realized he was in bed in the living room, the bed unfolded out of the couch. Out of the window, he saw the cave entrance, and that it was the middle of the night outside. She looked over to him through the wide kitchen viewing window, smiling naturally. "I'm gonna try to cook you something solid, now that you're conscious, alright?"

Sensing her intent, he laughed. It ached, but after what happened, it was a really good feeling, to laugh.

* * *

A terrifying prospect made its way into Flame Princess' mind. What if nothing was to come for her? What if she was stuck in this place forever?

What if nothing changed?

* * *

In her rage, she had fled. In her wrath, she refused to fight her enemy. In her need for vengeance, she had embraced pragmatism.

Bonnibel Bubblegum was at a cliffside, overlooking the Candy Kingdom. She saw three Brimstone airships come to replace the one that was shot down. The Candy Kingdom had fallen.

The land had been stirred, and shaken. And now all of the capacities within her, that had remained dormant for so long, were needed.

It was time for the slumbering giant to awaken.

She turned around, and headed back inside her rocket capsule. There was much to do.

* * *

 _Welcome to the world. Where all actions have effect, all thoughts carry potential, and there is an end to every beginning._

-Z


	11. After the Storm

Finn felt he was in a world of thickness, a world of soft. He was upright, but he could just let his feet hang.

Then he slammed on a hard floor. Finn got up, and saw people laying on the floor distant from him. They were Jake, B.M.O., PB, Marceline, Flame Princess; all of his friends. He scrambled up, and ran toward them, to see if they were okay.

He was stopped by a hard, mercilessly strong claw suddenly gripping his head. Violent rumbling rang into his hears. The claw turned him around, and he was brought face to face with an enlarged image of Karas Brimstone. She was point blank to him, her gaze ran him through, and her mouth opened, calmly, to speak. "You live in my world now, boy." Her voice rattled his ears, it was the voice of a demon, a monster.

The claw turned him around, and he saw Craw, standing over Finn's friends, who were still fainted.

"Craw!" Came Brimstone's voice. "Kill them! Kill all this boy cares for."

Craw raised his blade, and cut them all to pieces.

"No!" Finn shrieked. He reached out for them, and found that his arm was gone, cut off.

He fell to the floor. _Oh no,_ he thought. He couldn't survive if he lost an entire arm, he felt the floor hit his face, and front body.

Finn awoke.

He was in Marceline's couch-bed. Night had long fallen. He sat up, and leaned forward, holding his face in his left palm. It had been a week since that day. Pain still emanated from the stub past his right shoulder, and the ache spread to his entire chest.

There was no way he could go back to sleep. He got out of bed, and got his clothes on. Marceline was a vampire, so she was probably awake at night. That, and she had to keep an eye out for scouting parties. The moonlight outside made its way into the cave a little bit.

Finn went outside, into the cold night air, into the vast cavern in which Marceline's house was located. He raised his remaining arm, and the grass blade moved over to it.

He took the cold, and the scare of the night with stoic endurance. It was time to train.

* * *

Flame Princess was curled in the corner of her cell. Beyond boredom, beyond loneliness. Her only contact with anything was the chute that fed her coal. Sometimes she shouted up at it when it opened, but there was never a reply, never a reaction.

She had a long time to think. It felt like months, but a more objective speculation would put it at about a week. Flame Princess knew beyond a doubt that she was being held in the Fire Kingdom. There was no other place anybody would have time to move her after whatever happened at the pass. Plus, until her reign began not long ago, the fire elementals had a xenophobic policy toward other cultures. It was unlikely anybody outside the kingdom knew of this method of imprisoning their own kind.

Her train of thought took her to wondering who did it. It was most likely a corrupt member of the nobility. She went through a bunch of tedious names, crossing off those too stupid, or cowardly to pull something like this. It left only three, two of them were criminals who had been arrested by her order, and stripped of their ranks, leaving only her father, who had also been stripped of his rank, but in a different way.

She avoided increasing her anger at him, settling her feelings with the verdict that when she got out, and if it turned out he was responsible for this, he was going in this cell.

She snapped out of what she was doing; curled up off in the side. She was the ruler of the Fire Kingdom, she rebuked herself; and she was going to act like it, imprisoned or no, whether or not anybody saw her. With this, she got up, and sat off to the side with dignity. She leaned forward, and picked up a chunk of coal, nibbling at it with all the formality she could muster without a plate or eating tools.

A tear rolled down her face.

She was so lonely. Ruler of the Fire Kingdom, sure, but before that she was a person, a living, feeling person. If given the choice to instead be locked in the lamp above the throne room, she would take it, happily. At least there she could see things happen, and sometimes talk to people.

But this, this was hell. There was nothing here. The terror from before made its way back into her mind.

What if nothing changed?

* * *

It was noon, and the sun beat down. Lemonhope stood before the rubble of the candy palace. It had been a week since the invasion, and things had finally cooled down. The rubble was closed off, by a simple rope fence with signs on the posts. The signs read:

 _Area may be hazardous, enter at your own risk._

None of the foreign soldiers occupying the city seemed to care if anybody crossed it. Lemonhope couldn't say he disapproved of this. If they meant to police the city, it seemed perfectly fair to draw the line at protecting people from themselves.

He was there to contemplate. It had been a crazy past week since the invasion. School had been canceled, and the city was under marshal law for a while, until the foreign army set up a new building to serve as a simultaneous courthouse and jail; functions once performed by the now destroyed palace.

Rumors had been circulating, discreetly, that Princess Bubblegum was dead. The military governor, a horse called Van Duke, didn't address this in any official statement. When asked directly, he said that she was 'missing' and that no further information was available.

The horse did unbelievably well in keeping the candy citizens calm. In the morning following the invasion, he held a public assembly in which he answered questions; laying down a code of laws, carved into a metal plate in the center of town, and also keeping an air of ease whenever he made a public appearance, sometimes stumbling on two hoofs, then immediately correcting himself, hoping nobody saw; or lighting his pipe in front of everyone. Whenever Lemonhope talked to someone else about the occupation, they all expressed disdain for the Brimstone Empire, but then amended the remark by saying; 'that horse is alright, though.'

The soldiers also made their presence more and more discreet, being gradually replaced by a civilian police force recruited from the local citizenry.

Rubble of the palace began to shift, snapping Lemonhope out of his thoughts. He watched, interested in what would happen next. The chunk of rubble shifted more, then flipped over away from the pile, revealing a hand and arm. After the arm cleared the chunk, it braced itself on the outside surface, and pushed.

A head came out next, gasping for air. Then the person shuffled and struggled the rest of the way. He rolled forward coming out of the pile head first. After emerging, he walked straight at Lemonhope. The stranger was a lot taller than he, and covered with dust and debris.

Lemonhope was too terrified to move.

He stopped in front of the kid, "water."

"Water?"

The stranger picked up a hand, and combed it over his head, getting a long mane of hair out of the way of his face. "Where can I find water?"

Lemonhope decided to just answer the question. "There's a fountain in the plaza." He noticed a large amount of blood crusted on his upper body. "Are you hurt, sir?"

The stranger chuckled as he walked past, toward the road. "Lesson for the ages, kid; shotgun beats sword."

Lemonhope followed. The stranger carried himself tall and erect, walking with evident mastery of the physical world. "Are you a hero?" He asked.

"Yes, I am."

Lemonhope never heard such a direct answer before, it surprised him. "How come?"

"Well, because I've done big things, in big places."

"Wow, you must be really strong to do big things." He tagged along energetically.

They went along the road. "It's not easy."

"How do you do it?"

"There's lots of ways to do it."

"What about you? How did you do it?"

He coughed from a dry throat, "I did it by destroying evil people with power. They thought they could substitute borrowed power with their own worth, and people suffered under them. I moved the world by crushing them to nothing. Being party to the rise of the greatest ruler in all of history."

Lemonhope mulled this in his head. "Are you Princess Bubblegum's husband?"

The stranger burst into laughter, immediately cut short by coughing from his dry throat. "I don't want to know what train of thought led to that guess."

Lemonhope lifted his eyebrows. He knew who she was. "Do you know where she is?"

"Afraid I don't, I've been buried alive for the past week." He looked down at him, intently. "Do you know where she is?"

Lemonhope saw that he really wanted to know. "Sorry, if I knew, I'd tell you. She's been missing since the invasion. Lotta folks are saying she's dead, but nobody knows for sure."

They reached the fountain in the plaza. The stranger dunked his head in the pool, and it remained there for what felt like an entire minute, but what a more objective speculation would place at twenty seconds.

Lemonhope had something he needed to ask this stranger. When his head emerged, he did. "You get rid of bad guys with power, right?"

The stranger's hair hung like a mop, he ran his fingers through it, moving it back behind his head. "That's right."

"So... do you think maybe..."

He looked down at him. "Life's too short not to say what you feel, kid. Let it out."

"The Candy Kingdom was taken over by a bunch of strange people."

"The Brimstone Empire."

"You know about them!"

"Yeah, I do."

"You can save us from them, right?"  
"Save you?"  
"Yeah, that's right!"

The stranger frowned, and sat down on the fountain ledge. "What have they done, that you need saving from?"

Lemonhope stood in front of him, with the stranger sitting, they were almost at even height. "They're like those people you said you destroy. They're bad people with power."

The stranger shook his head. "The Brimstone Empire is a force for good, every territory they take has always become a better place. And they were all places that needed to become better."

"But the Candy Kingdom was already a great place before they came along."

The stranger's cheek was propped on an arm.

"Don't get me wrong, they make a good effort. I can imagine doing a lot worse job running a conquered place. And I'm sure there are a lot of good people in there, but..." He shook his head. "They never had to come here in the first place! They have no reason."

The stranger had his eyes shut. "I see your point."

"So then, will you..?"  
"I can't."

"Why not?"

The stranger laughed. "I wish I was young enough to ask that.: Why not." He shook his head. "So naïve, but so proper to ask."

"Why can't you?"

The stranger frowned, introspectively. "It's more of a won't."

"Why won't you then?"

"Because..." he lifted a hand, then let it drop. "Because I don't believe in protecting people."

"Why wouldn't you want to protect people?"

He paused, thinking of what to say to that. Then he looked Lemonhope in the eye. "Because people are arrogant, and they try to tell other people what to do."

Lemonhope shrugged at this.

The stranger sighed, "you're a kid though, not people." He got up, and walked past. "I'm not going to help you, or any of these people. That's my final answer."

"But what about-"

The stranger looked back at Lemonhope, cutting him off. He wore a hard, terrifying glare. "Kid, if you want something, then you have to reach for it. If you need a hero, then become that hero. I'm not going to help a bunch of people who sit around whining, and won't lift a finger to help themselves."

He shrunk down a bit. "But... you said you were a hero."

His face gradually began to soften, "the rarest kind." He went back to walking away.

Lemonhope watched him leave, until he rounded a corner and disappeared from view.

* * *

Finn stood alone, in the dark, in the cold. It was the middle of the night, and he was in the cavern that housed Marceline's house, deeper in than the house, where it was even darker. He was perfectly still, ignoring the cold, ignoring the aching from his wound.

"Ready?"  
Finn reached out his left arm, and the grass blade came to it, he nodded. Just as he nodded, rocks came at his head at a high velocity. They came from all directions, in an even formation.

As the rocks flew, needing only seconds to reach his head, Finn merely moved his sword through the air, slowly, deliberately, gracefully.

Then a blur.

His form blurred behind each rock in full circle, not missing one and not slowing down for any of them.

A carved out piece of each rock reached the point where Finn's head was at the start. They combined, forming together into a perfect bust of Finn's head. Finn appeared kneeling under it, holding the bust in his raised hand. He stood up, holding it more naturally.

Marceline came out of the shadows. "Wow, Finn! How do you do that?"

Finn looked at the bust. "I can't focus while its happening, it's all I can do to plan where I want to go."

"Finn, I couldn't keep up with it, and I'm a vampire! I can keep up with bullets!" She floated behind him, leaning on his shoulders and staring at the bust with him. "How'd you make that if you can't focus while doing it?"

"It's the sword," Finn explained, "it has... habits. It likes to sculpt my face for some reason."

"Ooh," said Marceline. "Maybe it has a spirit inside it, and she's in love with you."

"Cut it out!" He said humorously.

She laughed as she levitated in circles around him.

"Has anybody come here?" He had to ask, he knew the invasion would advance sooner or later. It had been a week.

She shook her head. "A couple of scouting parties came close. Directing them away from here was easy." She didn't want to talk about that. "So, should I reload the shooters? I wanna see you do that again, or at least try to see you do it."

"Marceline, I need to know." He had calmed to a serious disposition. "Tell me everything you know." She had heightened senses, and the ability to travel very fast, it was likely she already knew a lot.

She sighed, and slowed to a stop in her levitation. "I guess you're gonna get involved in this, sooner or later."

"The land of Ooo is my home, and also my charge. I can't ignore this."

She lowered her head patiently, "of course it is."

"So?"

"I'll start wherever then. The guy who cut off your arm was buried alive when the palace went down. He's lucky the palace got him before I did, let me tell you."

"Marceline, I told you not to-"

"Finn, I like you, but I don't take orders from you, okay?" She shook her head. "I wouldn't have just charged at him like a cowboy, I know how to size up a mark first."

That remark stopped Finn cold. He looked at his severed arm, frowning in thought.

"Bonnibel is M.I.A., and Jake and Rainicorn are on the D.L. I think they're hiding out in the subterranean Slime Kingdom."

"You can't find PB?"

"I don't think she wants to be found. Believe me, if I can't find someone, then they're making a good effort to hide."

Finn nodded. "What about the invaders?"  
"I'm not gonna lie, Finn. They've unloaded a large force, at least fifty thousand troops."

Finn thought of what it would be like to fight fifty thousand people, and felt overwhelmed. "What are they doing?"

Marceline put up two fingers. "They're constructing two big things, one at the seashore, and another out in the grasslands. I don't know what they are."

Finn began to pace. "Anything else?"  
His sudden change in attitude surprised her, not in an unpleasant way either. "There's a unit of banana guards who escaped from the Candy Kingdom. They've been moving through the other kingdoms, warning them."

Finn nodded, "that frees a considerable chunk off my schedule."

"Oh? do you have a plan already?"

"I've had a week to think things through." He turned and headed back to the house. "As soon as the sun comes up, I'm leaving."

Marceline followed. "One more thing, Finn."

"What?" He kept walking.

"That empire, you're on their list, if you know what I mean."  
"I see."  
"They'll kill you if they get the chance." They reached the porch door, behind the house, and went inside. She floated up the hatch to the second floor. "Wait there, Finn, there's something I want to give you."

Finn waited, it was only a few seconds before she came down holding a cloth bag. She set it down on the table. Then she backed away, letting him walk up to it. He unzipped the bag, and took out a long, mostly metallic construct. It had a handle in the back, with two triggers, one further up than the other. The middle and front were taken by six wide, metal barrels arranged in a horizontal oval.

"I nicked it from one of those Brimstone guys." Said Marceline. "They called it a hex blaster.

Finn pressed a switch near where the barrels began, and the barrels fell, swinging down on a small hinge, allowing him a view through each barrel. "It's a gun."

"Yeah, and the bag's full of ammo." She floated over, and took a handful out of the bag. They were cylinder-shaped paper packets, each with a metal ring braced on one end.

Finn grabbed a thick lever on top of the handle with his thumb, pulling it back. It linked with a mechanism that pulled six individual hammers behind each of the six barrels, locking them in place. "Why are you giving this to me?"  
Marceline shrugged, "I saw it and thought of you. It might help you."

Finn pulled the back trigger, the one easiest to reach with his index finger. One of the hammers snapped down. Pulling the front trigger made all of them snap down. "I can't use it."

"What? Why not?"

Finn shook his head, "for one, it'll probably kill whoever I use it on. I don't want that."

"Your grass blade can cut people up just as easily." Marceline argued.

Finn turned the weapon over, still examining it. "Yeah, but I have a lot more control over the grass blade. Besides, I can't use this with just one arm."

"You're holding it just fine."

"Yeah, but can you imagine loading it with one arm? I'd have to set it on something, that makes it unusable during battle." He set it down on the table.

Marceline sighed. "You're right, I just..."

Finn sensed how she felt, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'm Ooo's greatest champion!"

She frowned, "maybe you should stay a bit longer, get some more training in. Besides, you haven't fully recovered from your injuries."  
Finn smiled sheepishly. "My arm isn't gonna grow back."

Her frown deepened. "You have to be careful, Finn. Those people, invading Ooo..." She picked up the gun. "They have weapons like these, and they won't hesitate to use them on you. You know what these do, right?"

Finn nodded. "I've seen them in movies we dig up. They're actually very inaccurate, you have to be really good to hit something."

Marceline shook her head. "It's not like in the movies. The truth is that they're very accurate and very easy to aim." She paused for a moment, thinking, then she took a couple of shells out of the bag, and put them in the open barrels of the gun, flipping them so the metal rings go in last. They slid in without effort, stopping at where the rings hit the rim of the barrels. She loaded each barrel with a shell, then closed it up, clicking it into place and re-aligning the barrels with the body.

She headed out the back door, "follow me."

Seeing her go outside right after loading a multi-barreled firearm gave Finn a weird sense of deja-vu. He followed her outside.

She stopped in the middle of her large back porch, waiting for Finn to get behind her, once he did, she leveled the gun at the outside wall of her house. "I don't want to do this to my house, but you need it, Finn." She pulled back the main hammer.

Finn knew what she was about to do, and his curiosity kept him from saying anything. He saw her finger pull the front trigger.

When the gun fired, it let out a blast so loud that it made Finn afraid out of impulse, he wanted to jump and float in the air from the tingly sense in his back neck.

He opened his eyes, and saw the house. He didn't recognize it at first, it was like a small rain cloud of acid rained on it horizontally for an entire day. The siding was nearly all gone, and there were several holes in the wall, showing the interior, and several mutilated items within that.

Marceline was still holding the gun level. All six barrels were smoking. She let it hang at her side. "Don't know why they gave it a trigger to fire all six at once, the recoil of that would knock a mortal off their feet."

She looked over at Finn. "It only takes a second, to aim and fire."

Finn was paralyzed. If Craw had used a weapon like that on him, he would have lost more than his arm. "I..."

"Do you understand, Finn?"

He managed a nod.

"You can't just think of things that are close to you as a threat. If you hear someone nearby, use that speed technique, and change your position. Play it safe, don't wait to see who it is first." She began to pace. "If you can catch them by surprise, great, but you have to make sure you know how many there are, and where each of them is at all times."

Finn was quiet.

"I wish you'd stay here, Finn. Mortals have so many parts that if one of them fails, they cease to exist. Jake is less vulnerable in that respect, but not you." She walked closer to him. "You're lucky your arm was expendable."

"Actually, I think he spared my life." He'd been thinking about what happened a week ago. "He cut off my arm, knowing it wouldn't kill me."

Marceline put her hands on his shoulders, getting his attention, then she shook her head. "That blow was meant to kill you."

"What? How do you know?"

"I saw the wound. Given the texture, and angle of the cut, I can tell it was an upward slash, perfectly vertical. I've seen a lot of things in my thousand years, and I can say for certain you were moving, extremely fast, to the left as the blade went through your arm."

Finn's eyes widened. "So..."

"He wasn't aiming for your arm."

Finn took a couple steps back, realizing how close he was to death. "Then... why didn't he finish me off?"

"Were you his objective?"  
Finn snapped his fingers. "That's right, he was there to kill PB."

"What?" Her voice was low and forced, her face darkened, "What kind of sick monster would try to kill Bonnie?"

"He was ordered."

"What kind of sick monster would order it!" She got more unsettled. "All right, Finn, good luck with whatever you're gonna do. I've got a mission now. I'm gonna find that guy, and make him wish he was never born! And if he's dead, I'm gonna find everyone else responsible for this, and make them pay."

Finn looked her in the eye, his uneasiness at witnessing the effect of the gun was gone, he was certain now. "Marceline, all I have to say is, good luck."

* * *

"Sent you did she?" Craw was laying atop the walls of the Candy Kingdom city. "Hope you're noseblind, 'cause I haven't washed in a week."

Standing over him was Vang Hespiris. Her glowing red mechanical eye, and green unnatural eye were both visible from underneath pulled cowl. A billowing black cloak concealed her half mechanized, half unnatural body.

Craw relaxed a bit more, shifting his position. "I know what you're thinking," he made fingerquotes. "You're alive, that makes my presence here superfluous. Oh, glob, I spent a week aboard a loud, crowded zeppelin for nothing."

She said nothing, continuing to stare down at him.

"Then your next thought would be something like; oh, but Karas means everything to me, I'd happily toss myself into the Nitosphere for her."

She did not react.

Craw moved his head, looking up at her. "You ever thought maybe she'd be more comfortable if one of her closest associates wasn't a dependent drone?"

Still, she just stood there, saying nothing, no movement, except her cloak whenever the wind picked up.

Craw was still relaxed. "I so enjoy our talks. You got something for me?"

She took out a sealed metal case, then tossed it at Craw.

He caught it naturally, then got up on his feet. He dug under his collar, and pulled out a key on a rope around his neck. He used the key to unlock the case, and then he took out a rolled up paper scroll. He looked over at Vang. "Are you here to stay?"

She still just stood there, staring at him.

Craw pointed the rolled up scroll at her as he walked away. "Seriously Vang, you are my compass."

She watched him walk away as he disappeared into one of the roof doors, leading to a staircase inside the wall. Still just standing there.


	12. Land of Lies

_Why do people lie?_

 _I've seen people do it. They have a lot of ways to do it, and they have a lot of reasons, too. Some of these reasons are bad, and some are okay..._

 _Flame Princess hates it when people lie. She seems okay with white lies, like as a joke or sarcasm. But deceiving people, covering up the truth, to her, those things are unacceptable._

 _She rules an entire kingdom now, and I became nervous she would take it too far. Thankfully, she understands that people cannot be told what to think._

 _But her mission is still very much on, and she has resolved to accomplish it, with the kingdom she's been charged with ruling._

 _I am her knight, her closest retainer. So naturally, I wish to do whatever I can to make her goals a reality. With that, I asked the question I am considering now:  
Why do people lie?_

 _Is it for advantage? I thought of that, and found there to be just as many cases of lies being used to avoid disadvantage._

 _Is it because people just don't trust each other? That was my answer for a while. But when I became an officer of the Fire Kingdom Royal Army, I learned about compartmentalization. The practice of officers keeping sensitive information from other officers, and all of their men. The reasoning behind this made sense to me. Keeping information away from everyone was the only way for certain to keep it from the enemy, and in war, secrets are lives. My men trust me, and in turn, in times of war I'll keep them alive by keeping the truth from them._

 _In all my ponderings, I've eventually come to think, no, to know, that people lie to each other because they're searching for something._

 _It is this conclusion that has made me do the unthinkable: lie to Flame Princess. She is my ruler, and somebody I greatly admire. And she trusts me to tell her everything._

 _She asks herself why people lie, and I don't share my new answer, that is my lie._

 _I don't share it, because I know she's searching for something as well._

-Sir Cinnamon Bun

* * *

Gates sat at the head of the table. They were within the newly built headquarters in the city walls. Along the sides of the table were all officers of the army that landed in Ooo by way of the giant zeppelins.

Gates spoke: "As you all probably know, the land of Ooo has no airports, and no major shipping docks. Our Quetzalcoatlus class airships are the only ones with the range to make a two-way trip across the ocean before needing to refuel. The sky bridge created by them can only support so large a supply volume."

One of the officers leaned forward. His helmet was off, revealing a head of animated rock, with bronze lining, signifying he was part of the Bronze Tribe of earth elementals, indeginous to Nugondowan. "I think our current forces are plenty. We took this kingdom with practically no effort!"

Gates chewed his pipe patiently, waggling his head left and right. "We had a mountain of advantages you're not considering."

The officer tapped a hand on the table, "I am considering them. We have numbers, training, and technology." He surveyed the other officers. "These guys are a bunch of primitives. They might crawl into the woodwork, but they don't stand a chance in open war."

Gates continued chewing his pipe. "I appreciate your enthusiasm, but you have demonstrated a disregard for our true advantages of that battle." He stood up, "the Candy Kingdom had only two days, at most, to prepare for our invasion. Not only that, but our airships caught them completely off guard. We can't count on such an effective element of surprise in the future. Not only that, but the enemy leader was admonished by Craw's harassment, she was removed from the field before the battle even began."

The officers sobered. Another stood up, he had iron lining in the seams of his stone skin."The Strategist has a point, the enemy would have been a much more serious threat with a solid command. A single officer was able to not only bottleneck our deployment zone, but escape the city with a sizable amount of troops when the situation turned against him."

"And those were only banana guys." Reinforced another officer. "There's no telling what kind of crazy things the other countries might throw at us."

Gates nodded, and nodded again, efficiently agreeing with everything said. "Good, I'm glad we're on the same page. It is on these grounds that I call for a priority shift." He got up, and began pacing. "We shall focus on reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, we'll strengthen our hold on the territory we have on this side of the ocean. We'll complete the skyport and dock. No further invasion until our foothold is secure, and our forces properly equipped."

"With the skyport and dock, our supply volume will jump tenfold!" Shouted another officer, whose removed helmet revealed a reptilian face with several rows of teeth. "We've got fifty thousand men here right now, but with an airport and shipping dock, we'll be able to deploy half a million."

"That's ludicrous." Interjected another voice, low and tense.

Everyone turned to the source, and found Craw entering the room. He was staring down everyone at the table holding them on ice. A half-empty bottle of booze hung off his right hand.

He walked along the long table, holding up a finger. "You pick the one, right tool for a mission."

"Craw, you smell like a sewer!" Said Gates easily, eager to lighten the tension.

He nodded at the officers in salutation, then stopped near the head of the table, close to Gates. "I've got new orders. Are my guys here?"

Gates nodded. "Yes, Master Craw, your gang is- I mean, your esteemed colleagues arrived several days ago."

"Where are they camped?"

"The grasslands, near the skyport construction site."

Craw nodded as he went to the corner of the table, leaning down on it. "So, what are you guys discussing?"

"Ah," said Gates quickly. "We were just discussing our course of action for the foreseeable future." He sat back down again, scooting back up to the table. "Whether or not Master Craw has a point regarding the importance of numbers, the dock and skyport are still going to be important to allow our Navy and Air force to operate on this side of the ocean."

"Indeed," spoke the Bronze Tribe officer. "It'll also be pivotal for developing this region."

Everyone nodded, agreeing with this remark.

The reptillian officer interjected, "the 'tools' Craw is so fond of will be had in abundance!"

Craw put a hand on his shoulder, nobody noticed him approach.

The reptillian officer remained calm, "excuse me, gentlemen." He said to everyone except Craw.

Craw leaned forward over the table, "oh, excuse me, gentlemen." He held everyone's gaze as he held out his bottle of booze for everyone to see. "Excuse him, gentlemen." Without another word, he walked away, out through the double doors of the conference room.

Once he was gone, the bronze earth elemental shook his head. "Sad bastard."

The other officers silently agreed.

"You know why Her Majesty sent him here, right? After the Empire's final victory, and there was peace on our continent, he became an unmotivated wreck." He started huffing out of involuntary laughter, his face sour. "He needs this."

"Far as the empire's concerned, he's a hero," Gates argued. Though inside, he knew they had a point. When he went to Craw's high rise to talk to him about the mission as envoys to Ooo, he was shaded in at noon, half drunk and reading novels out of a pile of at least fifty. He hadn't washed in weeks, which... in retrospect was actually normal for him.

"I know he's a hero." Said the bronze officer. "We all do, he's done more for the empire than any of us here, except maybe Gates." He shook his head. "But we all have lives besides this we can go back to. He doesn't." He shook his head. "All he knows how to do is kill and destroy things."

Gates saw where this was going, he slammed his hoof on the table. "That's enough. We're not going to talk behind his back, is that clear?"

The stone bronze guy backed down. "Sorry..."

"It's all right," said Gates easily. "Your concern was coming from a good place. What you need to understand is that before his purpose as a fighter for Brimstone, he had... nothing, of value, within himself."

"You seem to know a lot about him, Van Duke."

Gates shook his head. "It's not my story to tell. Now, back to the matter at hand; our strategy."

"We certainly do need to discuss some things." Said the iron earth elemental. "What are we going to do against the fiefs? Chances are they're gonna come at us with everything they've got."

Gates Van Duke laughed low-key. "I've got a plan for them. This Kingdom of Candy has been at peace for a long, long time; it'll take them time to mobilize."

"What's your plan?"

"I plan to offer them relief."

"Relief from what?"

Gates looked down the rows, at all of the officers. "Relief from their new responsibilities, of course."

* * *

Finn waited in the brush for the patrol to leave the field. As soon as they were out of sight, he emerged into the open field of the grasslands. He saw his house in the distance. Before leaving Marceline's house, he was approached by Peppermint Butler, who was there to deliver a message from Princess Bubblegum; that she wanted him to head to the Fire Kingdom. When he asked him where she was, he said that she couldn't risk giving away her location by telling him. When he asked why she wanted him to head to the Fire Kingdom, he replied that he was to 'be natural,' relying on his own judgment. After that, the butler vanished into the shadows.

He decided to do as she asked, considering his plan before that was to gather intel to formulate a plan. It seemed logical to save time, and defer to someone who already knew stuff.

The door to his house was across the field, and so he focused on that, all of the walking it would take to reach it, and locked that in his mind.

Finn walked along the planned path, and pulled time's grip on him away from his physical person.

The world, his perception, his senses, even his thoughts all became a blur.

When he emerged, body and mind, he was in front of his house, right next to the door. He scanned the distance from his new vantage point, making sure he was in nobody's line of sight. With the memory of the mutilated house fresh on his mind, he was ready to immediately change his location again if any Brimstone patrols saw him.

He saw none, and went to the door. Then he stopped himself before opening it. He was going to walk straight in, expecting it to be as it always was.

Finn rebuked himself for almost doing this, he couldn't take any chances.

And so he backed himself near the outside wall next to the door, then pushed it open with his arm outstretched. The door creaked, but no other sound within.

Finn realized that B.M.O. was still here. In the crazy events of a week ago, he'd completely forgotten about him. But any worry for the little robot was immediately settled by his newfound reasoning faculty. B.M.O. Would know to hide if a stranger searched the house.

Once the door was open, he turned the corner with his head, and saw that the front, ground floor room was deserted. But past that, up the ladder, was concealed by the hatch. He went back to his position, then wheeled around the corner into the house, sword drawn, ready to strike any hostile that might be hiding.

As he entered, he spun his facing in a full circle, checking the back corners. No threats. His paranoia began to build.

Then a thump.

It was too heavy to be B.M.O. Finn kept still, waiting. When no further sound was made, his paranoia escalated, and he ran out the door. Still seeing no patrols out in the grasslands, he ran around the house and climbed up the side of the wall. He knew how to slow down time for his own body, making himself lighter, and so climbing the house was a breeze.

He made his way up to a terrace in the upper floors, and hung off the railing. He peeked over, and saw the inside was deserted, and so he entered, tiptoeing as best he could over the creaky floor. Then it hit him that he could just slow time on himself again, making himself lighter.

He concentrated, pulling his mind once again in the zone. Then his body became light, and he practically floated over the floor, moving quietly and rapidly.

Finn reached an overhead view of a lower floor, and saw a Brimstone soldier. He was staring ahead, not above, so Finn could assume he was still incognito. The soldier wasn't mechanized like the ones who stormed the Candy Kingdom. Marceline had told him that only one twentieth of their force were cyborgs, or mechanized infantry, as they were referred to.

The soldier had skin of fitted stones, with metal at the seams. He was an earth elemental.

Finn heard the sound of hard, heavy sliding from the lower floor, which came in measured paces. It wasn't a footstep, if anything it was uncanny, and that gave Finn an actual sense of comfort. The source of the sliding became visible on the lower floor.

It was King Worm.

Finn's tension evaporated, he went to the edge, and hopped down to the floor. The soldier didn't react, but kept staring ahead. Finn looked around, and saw three others beneath the upper floor, all in the same trance as the earth elemental.

King Worm turned at Finn. "What up?"

"Tons of things, like, so many things." Said Finn easily. "What about you?"

King Worm surveyed the guys he had under trance. "These clowns, they tried breakin' into your house man. All talkin' outside 'bout double dog dares and interestin' things to be found."

"They steal anything?"

"I stopped em' cold."

Finn changed the subject. "Have you seen Beemo?"

King Worm shook its head. "The little guy split when it got hardcore out there."

"What?" He felt scared for him now. "Where'd he go?"

"Can't tell you, he went out a tunnel, a tiny tunnel, tunnel the size of a MO."

Finn turned back to the soldier held in a trance, the one closest to him. He had to think of the war. "You pull anything useful out of these guys?"

"I can't read minds dude, just mess em' up."

Finn nodded. "I see, I would suggest you let them go soon."

"What for?"

Finn took his finger and thumb off his chin. "If they don't report back, their superiors are gonna send more to find out what happened."

King Worm considered this for a moment. "Man, Finn, you gone all insightful on me. Alright, soon as you split, I'll wipe 'em of anything they saw and turn em' loose."

"Alright then," Finn went in the direction of the storage room.

"Whatchu up to?" Said King Worm after him.

"Just here to pick up some things."

* * *

What if nothing changed?

This question remained on her mind as she waited out in the cell. It became more and more prevalent, and soon, it would spill over and she would lose it. She would start screaming at the top of her lungs, or sobbing in the corner. Nobody was coming for her, she was stuck here forever.

But no, she realized. Something had changed.

She had changed.

She was a different person now, different from the girl in the lamp overlooking the throne room. She was in the same kind of prison she'd spent her childhood in, but now she knew what was possible.

Flame Princess looked up, at the shaft. If she could get up there, then she might be able to prop herself and climb up. But there was no way she could jump that high. The prison kept a limit to her breath, she couldn't fire up.

She went to the outer edge until the inward inclining wall was close to her face. Then she put her fingers on the glass. She wasn't hot enough to melt it, but an idea began to form in her mind.

Like a child who didn't know how to wink, she had never fired up in any way except her entire being at once, but now she had to learn.

Flame Princess felt herself, her temperature, her heat; her life force. Then she redistributed it. Feeling her body grow cool, and then, her fingertips become hot in equal measure. She pushed her heated fingertips into the glass, but it remained hard as rock.

She continued to push, pulling more heat from the rest of her body to heat her fingertips. It was the most uncomfortable thing she had felt in her life. She kept pushing, kept her fingertips hot. Seeing, vividly, the solid wall beyond the glass, and the way her glow illuminated it. She concentrated on it, then didn't. It was a zone of discomfort she knew she couldn't pull out of. But she kept trying to shift, kept trying to alleviate it without ending it.

Finally, the glass let up on its determined form. Her fingers began to bury inside it. She kept it up until reaching the end of her endurance. Then pulled her fingers away, letting her temperature normalize. She sat down, letting her heat distribute again naturally, lowering her head, with her eyes shut, not wanting to look at her progress.

But there was nothing else going on, so she got on her feet and inspected her handiwork. It was a tiny hole, more of a flaw in the glass; nowhere near deep enough to grip with her hands or feet. Seeing it tried to demoralize her, but instead she felt that now she had something to work toward.

She heated up her fingertips again, enduring the discomfort, and put them into the notch.

* * *

Flame King sat on the throne of the Fire Kingdom. He was set free after his daughter went missing, and then proceeded to fill the power vacuum.

Another man entered his sight. His flame was slower than a normal elemental, and glowed an ugly yellow. He grinned at Flame King. "So then, what be the status on the rebellion?"

Flame King twitched in one eye. When he retook the throne, Cinnamon Bun, Flame Princess' most able, and loyal retainer took as many soldiers as would follow him and fled the capitol. Over the past several days since, he's been raising hell all over the kingdom. He's either a radical anarchist, or a loyal subject of the rightful ruler of the Fire Kingdom, depending on who you ask. "I've got the situation under control." He shook his head. "My forces control every major city. He can do nothing but blow away all his energy. Without a way to replenish his force, he'll crack."

The slinky man chuckled. "And what if he tries to leave the kingdom?"

Flame King harrumphed. "Every mountain pass within his reach is strongly garrisoned. He won't be able to pass a single one, it would take too long to overcome them, and by then he'll be attacked from behind and crushed."

The yellow elemental hissed, and coughed. "Don't bother me with such mundanities!"

"You asked-"

"I asked if he could leave the country, and your answer should have been simply; no, he can't."

Flame King stood up, "I'll not be bossed around by you, Mory!"

Mory put up a finger, smiling. "Yes, you will."

Flame King remained as he were for several seconds, then sat back down. He said nothing.

Mory walked up closer, still smiling. His smile carried a sense that he didn't have a reason to smile, but was smug on the grounds that he didn't need one. His lips arched, independent of any other part of his face. "You may be king, but you will not ignore... our will, is that understood?"

Flame King twitched several times. "Yes..."

"It's best to keep us pleased. You're only on the throne as long as it suits our interests. Is that understood?"

He could barely contain his anger. "Yes."

"You see, king? We're having a serious talk in which you learn something important from your betters. Isn't that productive?"

He didn't answer.

"If you so much as think of conspiring against us..." He took out a heavy, semi-transparent crystal. The crystal was grey, with darker, almost black shades near the outer rim, and brightening slightly in the middle. "We'll know. Perhaps it's time for a check-up." He held the crystal between their faces for a few seconds, then lowered it. He was still smiling his oily smile. "It appears you have your priorities straight." He turned to leave.

Then he stopped, and looked back at Flame King. "You understand the consequences, if you even think of betraying us?"

He held the armrests of the throne in a vicegrip, "yes."

Mory nodded as he left the room.

Flame King was left alone in the throne hall for several minutes, before Don Jon, the Flamelord came out from behind a pillar, he walked close to lean on a bit of wall near him. "That weasel, I wish you'd let me beat some manners into him."

Flame King couldn't allow that, but he was comforted by the offer. "He's not to be touched, alright?"

Don Jon sighed. "I know, I get it, like nothing's changed; it's whoever is best at slinking and sneaking that's got all the cards."

Flame King sighed in turn. "Nearly all the nobility is like that as well. My daughter thought she could change it, but it's impossible."

"Your daughter? The one that overthrew you?"

Flame King ignored the remark. "She's still a child, who sees good in people, even when it's not there." He looked up. "Most of my reign was spent weeding out my enemies, and removing them, all the while under constant threat of assassination. A sword of Damocles hangs heavy over this throne. Is there any reason that would change with my daughter on it?"

"No, there isn't... is that why you locked her up?"

Flame King looked off, "whenever I think about her, it's all just a mess of half-rights and half-truths. What could I have done?" Don Jon was one of the few people he could be open around. Flame King was grateful for that. "She has every reason to hate me, I stole her childhood, and I did it for selfish reasons. I... hate myself for it."

Don Jon looked at the door leading outside, then back at him again. "The world don't revolve around you, that's vanity speaking."

"It does when you're a king. It does when you're in a position where you can lock up your own child for over a decade, and get away with it."

Don Jon walked in front of the throne. "Well, there's nothing can be helped on that. The present is the present. What are you gonna do now?"

Flame King considered this. "I'm gonna tow in line, and wait for the situation to change. Those worms and their secret order had better hope I never get an opening at them." He looked ahead, his massive head ducked over in focus. "I've been playing their kind of game most of my life." He looked to Don Jon. "Can I rely on you, my friend?"

He nodded. "You know it."

* * *

Craw listened to the conference after leaving and shutting the door. He heard them talk about him.

Then he immediately walked away. _Spineless worms._ He thought, _if they have something to say to me, they can say it to my face._

They did have a valid point, and that just made him angrier; a valid point spoken by a bunch of weak cowards. Craw went through the corridor, veering into the next restroom.

He reached the sink, and opened the tap, splashing his face with water. His eyes remained shut, and he envisioned a man on the top of a hill., the horizon vivifying his silhouette. He was much bigger than Craw, and had an exotic coat of fur, with a head resembling that of a great cat.

"Cobalt," he said out loud. Cobalt was a fearsome warrior who joined Brimstone while it was small. "The only reason," he said to himself, "I'm Brimstone's greatest warrior is because..." Cobalt was a better fighter than Craw, and a better commander. "Because you died." Craw was his senior in terms of service length, but in Brimstone, all that mattered was ability.

His hand became a tight fist. Gates was a better strategist, Cobalt a better warrior, and Karas a better leader than he could ever hope to be. Craw took out a small, stuffed roll of paper, and then a match. He put the roll in his mouth, and lit the other end with the match.

"Are you... worthless?" Came the voice of a woman.

 _Worthless,_ hearing that word produced visions of a different cat. Several of them. He was on his knees, leaning over, and blood was dripping off his person. He was helpless before them, and they were hissing hate-ridden insults at him, his tiny form trembling from pain, physical and psychological. He immediately inhaled on his blunt to stop that horrible memory from opening any further.

He turned around, and saw Vang Hespiris leaning against the wall. It was his turn to speak. His emotions pushed out, compelling him to say something like _what do you want?_ or _go away!_ He kept them in check. "Can I help you?"

She was silent, simply looking at him.

He knew that her silence was not a refusal to speak, but rather what she had to say to everything he happened to say to her. He turned back to the sink, putting his paper roll under the tap, extinguishing it. "What are you doing here, Vang?"

"I'm here to wipe up your crap."

He nodded, "I see," he turned back to her. "You've got your work cut out for you. She disappeared in a small room that looked like a rocket silo. She could be anywhere in the world."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, she's a genius, and she's pissed."

"Did she... defeat you?" She was looking at the huge scabs on his torso, visible behind his mutilated leather armor.

Craw shook his head, "no, she escaped behind a blast door."

She nodded, "understood," then stood straight as she walked toward the door.

Talking strictly of business, as an adult to another adult, took Craw's mind off his baggage. "Vang!"

She stopped.

It was something he had to say. "Thank... thank you, I needed that."

She turned her head right, showing only the unnatural half of her face. She was smiling in her green orb of an eye. "Us orphans gotta stick together, no?"

Craw exhaled in a hint of laughter. "Everything you've been through; your cybernetics and that weird bio-enchantment, and still you're open to other people's baggage." He shook his head. "You're truly amazing."

"You... gonna be alright, Craw?"

He turned off the tap. "The world's a lot bigger than a bathroom and the shadows of one's own mind." He walked past her, "we're in an uncharted part of the world, I'm not about to shut myself away from it."

"What orders did you get?" She said after him.

He took out the scroll she gave him earlier that day as he walked out of the restroom. "Nice and vague. I'm to do active reconnaissance in an uncharted territory."

"Have fun."

"I intend to." He let the door swing shut behind him.

* * *

The Duke of Nuts read the letter again. It was sent to every fiefdom of the Candy Kingdom, and his carriage was on its way to the occupied capitol because of it. The letter read:

 _Most honorable Duke of Nuts._

 _As you know, the armies of the Brimstone Empire have occupied the Candy Kingdom. Our reasons for this were in order to locate, and secure an entity known as the Floodgate._

 _This letter has been sent to every outlying realm to announce that the Floodgate has been found, and our objectives here in the Land of Ooo have been completed. We no longer have any wish to remain, and plan to immediately pull our forces out of the Candy Kingdom._

 _You are invited to a diplomatic assembly in which I wish to formally apologize for our necessary, but still unjustified aggression. Hopefully, also to Princess Bubblegum herself. She, too, is invited to this assembly, but as her location is unknown to us, I could not send her a letter, and would greatly appreciate it if any of you who do know her whereabouts would forward this message to her posthaste._

 _As the delegated representative of our sovereign ruler, Empress K. Brimstone, I once again apologize for this wanton act of war. I hold to the ideal that it is never too late to make amends, and eagerly await your presence, that we may speak to one another as civilized beings._

 _Sincerely – Gates Van Duke_

When the Duke of Nuts first read this letter, he felt so... relieved. It was like a bad dream had finally ended. There wouldn't actually be a destructive war. There would be no need to militarize, and put his life, and the lives of his people at risk.

He knew that pure evil didn't truly exist, and he was ready to sit down with this new nation, and discuss their differences peacefully. Everyone desired peace, after all, the world was such a wonderful place. There was no point in wasting one's time on it fighting other people.

The carriage reached the city, and the portcullis opened for it.

* * *

Gates sat at the conference table, awaiting the arrivals of the candy nobles. The conference was being held in the new city headquarters. An assistant walked by, and whispered to his ear every time one of them arrived through the gate to the city.

Eventually, all of them did arrive. The rulers of every fiefdom of the candy Kingdom; the Nut Land, Lemongrab, Lake Jello, and Rock Candy Mountain. Also the princess of every kingdom that directly borders the Kingdom of Candy.

Gates observed them all. "Very good, I thank you all for coming." He stood up. "This is a cultural thing, mind. But I prefer to speak plainly. Is this alright with everyone?"

They all nodded, looking at each other. The mood was quite hopeful.

Gates stood up. "Very good," he lit his pipe before continuing. "As of right now you are all under arrest."

The walls opened, and soldiers came out, putting gun muzzles to the head of everybody present.

The horse began pacing on two feet, "I'm going to screen you all very efficiently, raise your hand if you're not aware of what's going on here."

"What are you doing!" The Duke of Nuts stood up, his head still at gunpoint. "I thought we were here to discuss a truce!"

"I lied."

"But... why?"

"Quite simple," explained Gates. "We need information, regarding the whereabouts of Princess Bubblegum, as well as the Floodgate."

"You said you already found this 'Floodgate.'"

Gates shook his head. "Sadly no. I lied about that too."

Vang Hespiris appeared from the shadows, "Gates..."

Gates nodded to her, "of course, if we squeeze any information regarding her whereabouts, you will be informed immediately."

Without another word, she walked along the table, toward the door.

The Duke of Nuts watched her leave, then turned to Gates. "What's she gonna do? When she finds the princess?"

She stopped, and looked his way, "eliminate her." She turned to leave.

The Duke of Nuts looked on the verge of pouting. "You... you sick monsters!"

"You are a duke," said Gates to him. "You're supposed to protect people from sick monsters."

The Duke of Nuts sat down, looking at the table.

"You won't get away with this!" Shouted the Earl of Lemongrab, now standing up, looking at Gates from over the conference table. "Even without us, our lands will..." he raised an arm, "retaliate!"

Gates laughed, hard, through a shut mouth. "I'm sure they would, if they had any time at all to re-militarize." He stared down every noble and princess at the table. "Do you understand your positions? Do you understand ours? If we can beat you without giving you a chance, then it's going to happen."

"You... our..." The Earl of Lemongrab realized what he was talking about, he sat back down.

"Of course," said Gates. "Your lands have already been... annexed, by the Brimstone Empire."

* * *

Mory walked into a large dome-shaped chamber. There was a round, donut-shaped table, around which sat a circle of fire elementals. The ceiling was high, and glowed a tense indigo blue.

Mory took his seat among them, placing the Sky Crystal on the table. "I'm back from my visit with our friend the king, he's as good as ours.

The other fire elementals wore masks that concealed their eyes from everyone else. "Welcome back, Mory." Said one of them, his voice distorted by a filter.

Another began to speak. "There is in issue that must be addressed, regarding foreign affairs."

"I disagree." said another elemental. "We have only just begun to recover from the blows dealt to our associates by that... girl. We should focus on recovery, then concentrate on foreign affairs."

"I must object," said the previous elemental. "Events outside of our borders have come to a serious head. An empire from across the ocean has taken over the Candy Kingdom."

The room buzzed with murmuring. "Tell us everything." Said a louder voice.

"I shall, they have power, mountains of power. I believe they will soon knock on the doors of the Fire Kingdom."

The murmuring continued, when it finally calmed, one of the elementals stood up. "We shall make an alliance with this empire, then share in their power." He turned to Mory, "We trust the king will consent to this?"  
"Yes," said Mory. "He'll do whatever we tell him.

"Good," he nodded, then surveyed the circle of elementals. "We've had to endure much, every one of us. But soon, we shall have control again. It is men like us who hold the true power."

The rest of the chamber buzzed in agreement.

"Intellectuals like the bubblegum princess, idealists like the flame princess, they hold power, then don't know what to properly do with it." He hit the table. "We, would do it justice, and therefore it shall, be, ours!"

The chamber erupted with cumulative moaning. Moaning amplified with energy and zeal.

* * *

Finn had on his fireproof suit, and was walking the pass leading to the Fire Kingdom. He rounded a corner, and reached a garrison gate. He continued to approach. There was a guard posted outside the gate, Finn stopped in front of him.

"State your business," said the guard."

What could he say to that? That he was there to scout for the ruler of the Candy Kingdom? "Can I... enter the kingdom?"  
"Negative," replied the guard. "There's all kinds of hell being raised right now, we're not welcoming any foreigners."

This guy was Royal Army, and Flame Princess would never give an order like that. "Who's in charge here?"

The guard twitched. "Look, I don't appreciate some stranger coming along and asking questions. Do... do you even have papers?"

"I just want to know what's going on."

"That's classified information."

"Are you gonna arrest me for meddling?"

"Look, it's been a crazy past week, and everyone's on edge. I can't let you pass, end of discussion."

"Well, you got me all curious, saying there's stuff going on beyond the gatehouse here."

The guard looked left, then right, then leaned in, "listen, are you some kind of hero, or just a punk looking to cause trouble?"  
Finn cocked his head, "I... don't really understand the question, but if there's something fishy going on, I'm going to get to the bottom of it."

The guard nodded, "good enough. Flame Princess is missing."

"What? What happened?"

"I'll tell you what happened, she left the kingdom to go looking for some... I don't know, artifact, and next thing you know her dad busts out of the lamp and its all messy messy confusion. Nobody's seen her, Cinnamon Bun's started an insurgency to gun down the filth, and it stinks! It just stinks!"

Finn put up his arm, "whoa, calm down buddy, it's all right."

He shook his head, beginning to pace on the spot. "I'm in the royal army, I'm supposed to answer to the king. Then the king's daughter overthrows him and becomes king and now we answer to her, okay, sure, stuff happens all the time. Then we learn that she's gone missing, naturally we should sound the horn and do a search, but then our recent former king appears and now it's all 'keep order! Keep order!' I don't know what to believe anymore. Command and control is a mess. The boys upstairs just say 'stay the course.' Stay the flooping course! What does that even mean?"

"Are you gonna be-"

"And then thrown back an age! By an ingrate like you! I... I can scarcely get up in the morning."

Finn watched him sag and lose his energy. He kind of felt sorry for him. The human walked up close to the guard, ready to put a hand on his shoulder. "Can you let me through the gate?"

"Is that all you have to say?"

Finn paused a moment, "...yes?"

"Fine, go through, I don't care anymore." He tapped his pike twice on the ground, and the portcullis lifted. "Just... don't mention me. We never met, you got it?"

Finn walked past. "How could I possibly ID you? I don't even know your face."

"Yeah, good attitude. Keep it up and you'll get by fine here."

* * *

Craw was standing in an open field. In the distance, a short ways away, was the beginning of Fire Kingdom. He looked behind him, and saw his force, a small army, four thousand strong. In front of him was a group of fire elemental scouts his guys had just gunned down.

They demanded to know what he was doing here with an army, and the conversation came to a head. They pulled weapons, and then somebody let out a gunshot, and then it got hostile.

Craw turned to his men. "In the future, you fire when you have clearance to fire, yes?"

They all looked away, in compliance.

Another soldier, with an enormous backpack and a headset ran up to Craw. His backpack had a huge aerial, and an entire set of telephones. "Sir, you have a call from local command."

He sighed, "alright, turn around."

The soldier turned around

Craw reached for the guy's backpack, and found that there were four telephones racked on the sides.

"Phone two, sir."

"Thanks," he took the second phone down on the left side and put it up to his ear. "Talk to me."

"What are you doing right now?" Came Gates' voice.

"Uhh," he looked at the badly injured scouts, and the Fire Kingdom ahead. "I'm... pretty sure I just invaded the Fire Kingdom."

There was a hard sigh, "great."

"You need me for something?"

"No... more of a want. I can make do without you."

"You need me to come back I can-"

"No, finish what you started, I don't want to see any counter-offensives coming north from there understand?"

"Got it, conquer an entire kingdom with terrain and temperature conditions that make the Hot Pot look like a ball pen, with only four thousand guys, no problem."

"Well, there's some refreshing confidence, good show, Craw."

"I was being sarc-"

"Over and out." Gates hung up.

Craw slowly placed the phone back on the comm guy's radio set. "Glob-dang it..."

"What are your orders, boss?"

Craw looked at his four thousand. They were his unit, his handpicked force. The best of the best from nearly sentient species on Nugondowan. "Everyone!" He indicated the Fire Kingdom at his back. "This place is a volcanic, life-rejecting wasteland. An entire region of pure flame and smoldering sediment. Populated by a bunch of crazy neo-people who love all that stuff." He surveyed them, letting it sink in.

There was no way he could say what he was to say next without seeming crazy, so he was just going to roll with it. "I'm going to go in there, and show that..." he indicated the view of the place harder. "That _place_ who's boss!" They had to invade the Fire Kingdom sooner or later. The Floodgate might be there. "Who's with me!"

The small army roared with a battlecry.

That was all he needed to hear. Craw turned around, and dashed toward the Fire Kingdom, he gained speed, pumping his legs to attain as much forward momentum as possible. The grey, lifeless ground beneath him zoomed by. He heard a rumbling stampede just behind him. His army was keeping up, every one of them.


	13. Land of Chaos

She found him again, on another rooftop. The day was just ending.

He looked her way, and smiled in greeting.

She sat down next to him, keeping her eyes on the ground.

"Wandering rooftops again?"

She nodded. "Been doing a lot of thinking."

He lowered his harp, "so tell me what's up. What have you been thinking about?"

She took a deep breath, then exhausted it dispassionately, "about life."

"The occupation?"

She looked straight at him, now focused.

He giggled, "who hasn't been thinking about it?" He looked toward the center of town. "An army of foreigners. They had it in their power to kill or displace every last one of us. But they just took over." He kept staring ahead. "Do they have plans for us? How is this going to effect our lives? Are things going to change? And if they do, will it be for better or worse?" He looked her way, and lifted his eyebrows.

She looked at the sunset, patiently letting her thoughts take their course. "Before this happened, I knew what was going to happen tomorrow, and the next day, and even the day after that. But now, that feeling is gone."

"It's... certainly a change."

She got up, walking past him to look off the edge of the rooftop. "I'm afraid, you know?"

"I think everybody is."

"And yet..."

"What?"

She slowly made a fist, observing the view of the kingdom from their rooftop. "If I woke up tomorrow, and it turned out none of this happened, that it was all a bad dream or something, I think a part of me would be disappointed by that."

A pause, the wind picked up a bit. "Part of you welcomes this change?"

She was looking toward the center of the city. The palace was being rebuilt by the Nugondos, but not as the candy palace. In only a few days, its scaffolding reached to the sky, a height to rival a mountain. Metal structuring, and giant cogs could vaguely be seen within the mass of temporary construction apparatus.

The sight of this building fascinated her, and she didn't care what her fellow citizens thought of it. "A part of me -and I know this part is worthwhile- wants the world to be a big place."

* * *

Cinnamon Bun was on the top of a steep hill, mounted on his flame hound. The sight he surveyed towered over him, and everything around it.

A structure, old as ages long past, rose as though a mountain, over every other mountain. The openings to its inside were tall like spires, consequently creating pillars between. This architecture surrounded the cylindrical spire of the main building in a full circle. Orange glow permeated from them. It was capped by more detailed structure, and footed by a widening expanse of layer upon layer of fortification which blocked off the pass into the fortress. The pass was concealed within the craggy topography of the mountains.

It was the North Star, the most impregnable fortress in all the Fire Kingdom. Named after the star in the night sky that never moved and never shifted. "Flame Princess is being held there," said Cinnamon Bun. He had no doubt.

He signaled his mount, and it turned and headed away. He had to take that fortress, but that seemed an impossible task. Even if he had the entire Royal Army, it wouldn't be enough. There had to be another way, he thought to himself.

Another rider approached. He was Royal Army, of the part that followed Cinnamon Bun into defection. Cinnamon Bun nodded to him as he rode up close, matching his mount's slow speed. "What's the news?"

The other rider saluted, in a way that seemed unorthodox given that they were riding beside one another. "I just got back from the southeast valley."

"And? What's the... lord, of that area say?"

The rider looked at Cinnamon Bun flatly. "You don't know who the lord of that area is, do you?"

He inhaled, then exhaled. "No, no I don't."

"You're her highness' champion! I can't believe-"

"Yes! That's exactly right. Champion is technically a military position, I am not a politician. I had better things to do than memorize a bunch of names."

The other rider exhaled, letting the issue drop, "still..."  
"Back to business, what's the word from the southeast valley?

The trail went deeper into a veritable forest of rocky crags and tiny mesas, becoming slightly claustrophobic. "The lord of the southeast valley territory told me to relay these exact words to you: Your call to arms comes, words escape me, and only words."

Very good, thought Cinnamon Bun. That meant he was ready to join them, but didn't want to speak out. "He'll come to our side when the time is right." They reached a narrow chasm, and his wolf jumped it without effort.

The other rider followed suit. "How much longer?" He said as he caught up to his side.

Cinnamon Bun understood the question. "'Tis the unwritten edict of our ruler that people be honest with themselves and each other. And so I'll tell you what I'm thinking."

"Don't feel pressured."  
"No, this had to be said sooner or later. We need to get her back, that comes first. We need to take the North Star."

"What!" He exclaimed in a hushed frequency, still aware that they were trying to be incognito. "We could have a force twenty times the size of what we have, and attacking the North Star would still be suicide."

"I never said it would be easy, but it needs to be done. We take the North Star, and all our potential supporters will rise up."

"We'll have pulled off something impossible."

"Exactly, it'll give everybody a second wind. It'll became clear that we have a chance, and our potential allies will have the courage to join us."

The messenger huffed a bit. "I must question your sanity, here. The North Star doesn't fall, it doesn't move. Did your epiphany make you slightly... bent?

Cinnamon Bun glanced at the sky. "Before... she, came into my life, it was all just a haze. That might not be what it really was, but the me of the present remembers it as such. And now, after the events surrounding her spurred me to action, to an awakening, I see the world with such clarity. I see a new beauty in things that I was never capable of seeing before. I never want to go back to my old self." He looked at the messenger. "Do you understand?"

"You love her."

Cinnamon Bun drew his lance and tapped the tip over the messenger's head. "No, no, no, silly, man-child!" he said in sync with repeatedly tapping his lance over his head. "In order to say 'I love you,' there needs to be an 'I'." He withdrew his lance from its assault, and the messenger stopped flinching. "The point I was getting to, is that she's the reason I have an 'I'."

"I see."

"And what of you? Why do you remain loyal to her just as I do?"

"She's the king. The Royal Army answers to the king."

"That's... a simple outlook."

"Mmm-mm!" He said in affirmation. "Simplicity is power, power is life."

Cinnamon Bun heard that bromide often in the Fire Kingdom. He was reminded of how little he knew of their culture, even as their ruler's champion. "But she isn't the king anymore."

"Of course she is."

"Her father has taken over. You were there when it happened!"

The messenger shook his head. "He wears the crown, and sits on the throne, that doesn't make him the king. She's the king because when he was the king, she came up to his face and beat him down. They didn't really fight, but she secured his surrender. All he's done is try and take her place. He said it was to keep order, for the good of the kingdom, but if that were true he would do his utmost to find our missing ruler."

"You don't think her disappearance was his doing? That she's not being kept in the North Star?"

The elemental shrugged. "Whether it was him, whether it wasn't, his actions would be the same. A usurper is a usurper, no matter what it was gave him the opportunity."

Usurping the king by defeating them fairly wasn't considered a usurpation in Fire Kingdom culture. But trying to take the throne without fighting the king, was.

"Yeah, I guess." He kept quiet for a few moments as they rode the trail back to the rebel camp. "We might have to fight the Royal Army soon. Are you ready for that? A lot of them are people you know." Cinnamon Bun knew this guy personally, and that he was in the Royal Army before the chaos began.

"I'm ready to strike them all down."  
Cinnamon Bun was taken aback by this reply. "That's really..."

"What? I'm following our king's unwritten edict, and stating plainly my intent."

"Oh?" Cinnamon Bun decided to play along. "Let's say you were captured by the enemy, and you had it in your power to tell them everything you know and thereby plunge us into a world of trouble. Would you follow our leader's edict then?"

"No, of course not. But I would not lie either."

"Then what-"

"Simply refuse to tell them. The edict doesn't say I can't keep my mouth shut."

Cinnamon Bun considered this for a moment. "...I see, well played."

"Just as you've been doing with us. You've been really quiet whenever you're at camp, around the rest of the men."

He had reasons for that, and those reasons made it unwise to even talk about it.

"Things... are going really badly, aren't they?"

Cinnamon Bun looked at the messenger, who met his gaze. "No comment."

He looked down, "so I'm right." he looked back at Cinnamon Bun. "How badly? Are we losing, or have we lost?"

"I think I'mma refuse to tell you."

"We've lo-"

"No, you listen here," his voice became slightly hard. "We _are_ going to win this, you understand? Even if we have a one percent chance, if we give up, that one percent becomes a zero. There's all sorts of factors. If we drag this out, the situation will change. We'll get allies, from within and outside the kingdom."

"Come to the aid of what? A Royal Army with no claimant?"

This elemental was surprisingly insightful, Cinnamon Bun smiled to himself. "We need to get her back, that's the first thing, it's key."

"And that leads to the next thing I'm wondering, that we're all wondering."

"What?"

The elemental sped up, and turned in front of Cinnamon Bun, stopping them both. "Do you think she wants this?"

"What do you mean, this war?"  
He nodded. "We haven't heard from her since she left to search for the artifact. Then all this upheaval. You led us away from the capital, we followed because Flame King did not usurp our ruler properly, but..."

"What?"

"Do you think it would be her wish to remain in power if it meant a civil war?"

Cinnamon Bun patiently accepted their stop. He had already considered this, and had a question ready for the first one to ask it. "If the answer to that was yes, would you still follow her?"

"Of course."

"Then if her highness can say yes or no to you, you need to hear it from her, and so we need to find her." He spurred his wolf, and it walked along, passing the elemental as he followed up. "I have no political interests; no designs on this country as a whole." He looked over, and slightly backward at the messenger. "I'm on autopilot."

* * *

Finn felt as though the smog, the black sky, with the dim lighting of magma and flames, was blotting away any sense of familiarity with the landscape. It was as though he'd crossed into a whole different, alien world. Being inside his fireproof suit consequently reinforced this feeling.

As he made his way through the smoldering land, sticking to where the ground was stone, and not too steep, where it was safest, he wondered why he would come to such an inhospitable place. All PB asked was that he come here. She never hinted at a purpose.

But then, Flame Princess occupied his headspace with immense weight. And this was the place she had renounced her childhood, a very short childhood that began with her freedom, in order to try and improve.

With this in mind, he opened it to this place. He navigated its passes and magma lakes with energy and tolerance.

He had to keep away from the roads. Along the one leading up to the pass he'd entered the kingdom through, he spotted a roadblock manned by at least twenty soldiers, armed to the teeth with exotic Fire Kingdom weaponry he had never seen before. He was lucky to have spotted them before they he.

The land was indeed in upheaval. He had no reason to believe the gate guard would lie to him. The roadblock was evidence enough.

If that was the case, and Flame Princess hadn't shown, then he had to find Cinnamon Bun.

Ever since Craw cut off his arm, putting him through unspeakable agony, he found himself thinking with reason more and more. It was with this newfound reasoning faculty that he concluded that Flame Princess had to have gone missing within the Fire Kingdom.

He knew she headed straight to the kingdom after obtaining the Sky Crystal. And he knew the geography of the Candy Kingdom, and surrounding areas very well, and concluded there to be nothing with a motive or capacity to stop someone like her Between Sky Mountain and the pass.

And so it had to have happened here, in the Fire Kingdom. Cinnamon Bun was heading a rebellion against those who took her throne, Finn had to find him, and learn what he knew.

* * *

Craw had his feet propped up on the makeshift table in his camp. His pendant protected him from the inhospitable heat of the Fire Kingdom, and all of his men wore insulating armor, or were earth elementals, who could take the heat without any protection. They were camped on a broad cliffside, with two narrow passes being the only ways in and out.

He leaned forward, his feet still awkwardly placed on the table. His attention was focused on the fire elemental across the table, sitting on a rock stool that was basically just a rock. "Let me see if I can get you straight here." The flame person was an envoy of the crown, sent to parley with Craw's small army before hostilities escalated. "You think you have something to offer the Empire, that's outside our power to take from you?"

The flame elemental shook his head. "I don't understand what you're talking about, we're offering to truce with the Brimstone Empire."

"Truce..." Craw spoke the word as if sampling it. He stuck a finger in his ear, as if to try and clear it. "That word's got no meaning to me buddy, I'm naught but a humble warrior."

The envoy sighed in patient exasperation. "Is there someone else I could talk to? Somebody important, perhaps?"

"You get me," he said in an easy and rapid tone. "I am in a position to get you a talk with someone higher up the ladder, but I need to make sure you have something to say worth hearing." He tapped the table with each second word.

"I sent you a letter by carrier in advance. You can... did, read it, didn't you?"

Craw lifted his eyebrows. "The toilet paper bird, that was you? Thanks a lot! I needed that."

The envoy stood up and slammed his hands on the table. "This is a game to you!"

"You're all a game to me."

"You listen to me, here. The local lord has already responded to your incursion. His army is three times the size of yours, and a day's march from here. Parley is your only option."

Craw laughed out loud, he turned to one of his guys on the right. "I don't seem to be taken seriously here."

"You not taken seriously."

"Darn straight, get a load of this guy!" Craw leaned forward, outward at the envoy, "not taking me seriously or nothing!"

The envoy twitched. "That arrogant face of yours will be roasted to cinders."

Craw spread his arms, his feet still up on the table. "Let them just try to assault this position."

"You don't understand, the terrain is not going to help you."

"Oh?" Craw took his feet off, and lifted an eyebrow as he leaned forward, "and why is that?"

The envoy got defiant toward Craw's attitude. "Because we have big ballistic field guns that can set up on the foot of the mountain and shell you to oblivion. This cliffside is completely exposed to an aerial attack, we'll pick away at you like a buffet plate."  
Craw stood up, now calm. "So you have artillery and flyers. Thank you so much."

"What..?"

Craw walked briskly around the table and past the envoy, and then put two fingers in his mouth, letting out a deafening whistle. "Everyone, we're moving out!" His men spread the word to the farther reaches of the camp where he might not have been heard. The entire place erupted into activity.

One of his men walked close to him, and indicated the envoy, still standing there in confusion. "What do we do with the envoy?"

Craw took a deep breath, looking at the sky for a second. Then he uncoupled a short firearm from the soldier's gun holster. It was a hex blaster. But instead of six barrels, it had a wide, straight bar of iron cut in the shape of a hexagon, with six holes drilled the long way through its elongated shape. 'Twas an older model, from which the name originated. The design was later changed to six individual barrels to make it lighter and use less metal.

He aimed the weapon at the envoy's face.

"Whoa! what are you doing?" Exclaimed the man he borrowed the gun from.

Craw turned his head at him, saying nothing and still holding the gun level at the now petrified envoy.

"You... should use a less costly kind of bullet." He lifted his eyebrows.

He saw his point, and lowered the weapon. "What does lead do to you?" He said to the envoy.

"Wh... what do you mean?"

He lifted the short, thick firearm back up at him. "If a spray of lead pellets are hammered into one of you people at extreme velocity, what's the effect?"

The envoy swallowed over the noise of the packing camp. "Lead has a low melting point, so..."

"What?"

"It would melt, and cycle out of my system."

Craw pulled the rear trigger, and the gun discharged into the envoy. The shot knocked him over. The scene grabbed several looks from the soldiers of the camp, who then went back to what they were doing when they saw what was up.

The fire elemental got back on his feet, the lead buried in his body melted, and slid off his person, onto the ground. He was perfectly okay.

The dark skinned human opened the feed of the gun, causing the cindered paper of the spent shell to slide out through the front, and the metal brace ring to slide off sideways onto the ground. "Crap," he said as he looked at the gun, then at the unhurt elemental. "What else is useless against you guys?"

The envoy realized what was going on, that he was helping the enemy. "I have nothing more to say to you," he turned to leave, "I'm going now."

"Good call," he called after. "I was about to test a slug on you." He handed the gun back to the soldier he borrowed it from, letting the envoy leave.

* * *

After his week of training in Marceline's cave, Finn had come into the habit of practicing the Blade of Time simultaneously with doing anything else, be it eating, walking, even while talking. Ever since his first use exposed his mind to it, he kept being drawn to use it, even if there wasn't a specific purpose, as though it were an itch. It felt achy, and unpleasant, like growing used to a discomfort. But it came with the sense that he would get used to it. Whatever part of him the technique agitated would toughen.

He had become slightly accustomed to traversing the treacherous turns and traverses of the Fire Kingdom wilderness, and now the itch returned, to practice the Blade of Time.

One of the first things he'd learned to use it on other than his sword was himself. He slowed down time for himself, temporarily moving along the trail more easily and with less effort. He jumped up to a high rock, with time slowed for his person, he could push his body higher, but he fell just as fast.

As a default, the compensation rule first tried to speed up his clothes, and fireproof suit to keep balance. This would render inert any new physical capacities taken by his body going slower. But he quickly learned how to control where the compensatory effect would happen. He couldn't decrease the compensation while keeping the primary effect the same. An invisible force of infinite magnitude prevented any disproportion to the distortion, but by directing the compensation away from anything of significance to his physical motion of that moment, he could cheat space itself and go beyond his physical limitations.

He leaped to a higher rock, then another, higher one. Bringing him to a view of an open plain. What he saw in this open field surprised him, but was immediately explained by what he already knew.

Hundreds of fire elementals were in open combat. The side on Finn's left were pushing back the side on his right. They fought with blunt, stone melee weapons, and pressure hoses that sprayed mass amounts of dirt.

The winning side on the left looked like lightly equipped militia types. A lot of them rode on enlarged fire wolves or huge, red salamanders.

The side on the right looked uniform, most of them heavily armored. It looked like they were trying to keep rank and stand their ground. They propped long pikes on the ground, and pushed away the left side's ragtag cavalry, killing several riders and mounts, causing the bulk of them to pull away with their superior mobility.

All the clearing was alive with shouting and screaming and yelps of pain from animals getting hit. Finn could only watch, his reasoning faculty advised against getting involved. His fireproof suit was fireproof, but these fire elementals fought each other with anything but fire. Finn saw their faces; chaotic eyes, accelerated, angry and waving with finer splits and more rapid cycles than flames that small of size should naturally produce.

Reptile-drawn wagons on the left's side moved into dangerously close positions to their enemy, while the right held position to keep the left's cavalry from damaging them. The wagons sprayed dirt, in extreme velocity and volume, like small, concentrated sandstorms. The spraying of dirt washed through the right side's ranks. Every soldier in the splash reacted to being blasted with the sediment. They broke rank, and retreated.

The elated force on the left gave chase on their cavalry, with the mob of infantry following up close behind. They pursued the army on the right into a thicket of tall rocks. Finn couldn't see anything in there from where he was.

Then the cavalry came frantically out of the thicket, as well as the front half of the left side's infantry. The rest, taken by the sudden retreat of their comrades, followed suit.

Out of the thicket, pursuing the left force, was an array of tanks.

Metal wheels, shaped like thick cogs were housed within cast stone bodies. They propelled themselves forward, stopping for nothing. The bulky battle platforms let out hard crackle noises, like sudden releases of extreme pressure as they advanced. Their forward fixed turrets shot out wide, round bombs that exploded on impact. They rained the explosives down with an astonishing rate of fire, producing a release of pressure from the barrel with each discharged ball.

The round impact bombs were conventional explosives. Fire didn't hurt a fire elemental, nor any indigenous creature of the Fire Kingdom, but explosions were made of force, not just fire. Any elemental unfortunate enough to be too close to a bomb when it impacted got reduced to tiny flambos. The rest were liable to the high velocity stone shrapnel.

Even without support, the tanks drove back the force on the left.

Finn continued to watch. Coming across this battle was a surprise in every sense of the word. It pushed his mind out of its normal pattern. He'd never before encountered a situation like this.

Should I get involved? He asked himself.

His normal consciousness would say no. This turmoil wasn't his fault. He had no reason to get mixed up in it. Getting involved in the battle would be putting his own life in danger. He needed a good reason to do such a thing. He didn't want to take life, he turned down every chance he got to do so. And so he was unaccountable in this realm. The realm of battles and fighting.

But then...

This realm was going to become a part of his world whether he wanted it or not. The Brimstone Empire was not going to leave the Candy Kingdom, or stop there. Nowhere in Ooo would remain safe from them. He could ride this up, or back away forever.

And he would not back down, he would ride high. There were things in his heart he could not deny.

It was easy enough to tell which side were the rebels. And easy enough to tell it was the rebels whom supported Flame Princess. He charged down the hill, closing the distance betwixt he and the nearest tank. The space between Finn and the tank began to blur, and the next instant he was right next to its side. His grass blade punctured out of the glove of his suit. He ran along the side of the tank, slicing across the stone covering, and the row of fat-toothed cog wheels within. The tank was still in forward gear, and as it tried to roll forward, the entire left side fell apart, burying it crookedly in the ground.

Finn leaped up on top of the tank, getting the attention of the Royal Army troops following up the tanks. As he stood there getting their attention, he swiped his sword down, severing the tank's forward-fixed barrel. Not wasting words, they charged at him, leveled their spears, and threw them at he, their new threat.

As the volley of sharp, stone shafts beelined at him, covering the distance in mere seconds, he turned his grass sword ninety degrees, so the flat would slash through the air. Then he slowed, loosened time's grip on it, directing the compensation to the air particles ahead of his cut. Finn slashed in a hard uppercut, letting out a blunt wave of a vacuum and then condensed air that intercepted the swarm of spears and made them scatter off their trajectory.

Seeing this made the flame warriors stop cold. The scene of a swordsman whose slash carried such force and meaning that all things near it were consequented by that fact.

Then their training and instincts kicked back in, and they drew alternate weapons, charging Finn the Human.

Finn hopped off the tank, between it and the charging infantry. He took a moment bent over, even as they barreled down on him, to take a breath. Then, when he raised his head at them, it was a gaze of decisiveness.

* * *

Craw dashed across the jagged landscape of the Fire Kingdom, its searing hot air blowing past his face. The hammering thunder of his four thousand troops was close behind.

The envoy gave away the distance of the enemy force: A day's march from what was their camp by saying they were a day away. Through mathematical Trigonometry that assumed the enemy force's travel speed, this also gave away their location. The envoy also betrayed their number, roughly three times the size of his force.

Not that any of this calculation was necessary, he thought to himself. He had a supreme advantage they had no way of anticipating.

Nobody on this continent knew who he was, what he was capable of. They had no clue as to the savage monster approaching them, footstep by footstep.

He came over a slight rise, and spotted the first enemy. A pair of scouts, riding atop huge red reptiles. He quickly resumed his impossibly rapid march. It was so little time, yet so long before they spotted him. When they did, they rode away in flight from his army.

Craw ran even faster than the reptiles, he intercepted each of them, leaping up and cutting apart each rider, they fell to the ground as their riderless mounts ran away in a panic.

He continued to dash in the direction of the enemy army, his own still not far behind. One short minute later, he came over another rise, and saw them.

They were marching along a road in file, oblivious to the threat now directly proximate to them. "If a blow looks farther away then it really is," said Craw to himself. "It will always connect."

The hammering footsteps of his force caught up to him, as they did, he leveled a sword at the Fire Kingdom army of at least twelve thousand. "Destroy them!" He shouted as they passed him by. They didn't stop or slow.

* * *

Flame King was leaning over a map, carved in stone, of the Fire Kingdom. To the northeast was the outskirts of the Ice Kingdom, and due east was a range of short mountains dividing the Fire Kingdom from the grasslands. The ocean was to the west, and to the north was a vast expanse of grey, salted flatlands that if followed far enough would take you to the Candy Kingdom. Chilling winds blowing over it from the Ice Kingdom kept fire people from trying to cross it.

Flame King pointed to the grey flatlands to the north. "So the Brimstone force came from here," he moved his finger south, and to the east, pointing to a cluster of rocky mountains close to the border with the Ice Kingdom. "And they're camped here?"

"That intelligence is six hours old," replied a Royal Army officer standing at the map table. "They may have already moved out."

"What are their numbers?"  
"Scout reports say five thousand, probably less."

Flame King put a hand on his chin, "why would they send such a tiny force? It makes no sense if they mean to invade."

"Perhaps they're an entourage, and they mean to talk?"

He shook his head, and pointed to the campsite again. "They went out of their way to camp in what somebody unfamiliar with our land would think is a strong position. I think they're some kind of expeditionary force."  
"So we can assume that war is on their mind." Said another officer.

Flame King took a deep breath. "That area in the north, it's Lord Belchley's territory, yes?"

"Yes."

"Belchley ain't a tolerant man, and his army is sizable. We can assume he'll keep the enemy force from penetrating into our territory. We can focus on our real problem: Cinnamon Bun and his pack of rebels."

"My lord, what about Mory? Didn't he say that... they, wanted an alliance with the Brimstone Empire?"

"That's why I sent an envoy to talk to this army, to put up a face that that's my intent." He paused for a second, and rattled his head. "Mory is a cowardly piece of slime," he vented, "he hates the world, and hates his god for putting him on the world." He shook his head. "The situation was never under my control. It's Lord Belchley who's fighting them."

"You plan to scapegoat Lord Belchley?"

Flame King sighed, "there's no way an empire that did what it just recently did to the Candy Kingdom would have peace anywhere near its intent. So yes, there will be fighting, and Belchley will take the fall from... them."

"Even though you were just talking about how he's defending this Kingdom?" Said a third officer.

Those words hit Flame King, he suddenly saw a vision of his daughter, staring through him. He shook it off. "I'm doing what is necessary for the well-being of this kingdom." He had to do this, had to go with the demands of Mory's masters, and also keep the kingdom from falling apart. He hated Mory with every fiber of his being. Mory was just a liaison, a representative. But this didn't cool his rage at the tiny man, it intensified it. "It doesn't matter," he said to his military cabinet. "What of the rebellion?"

An officer on his right took out a stick, and indicated an area on the huge map. Unlike Flame King, he needed the stick to reach any part that wasn't right next to the edge. The spot he indicated was far southeast of the capital, and deep in the vast amount of mountains in the southern half of the kingdom. "A force comprised of Royal Army Battalions six, seven, and nine have sortied to this general area, in the hopes of provoking a rebel attack. Should the rebel forces commit to a direct battle, it's almost certain they'll be broken and beaten. Our army in the field has thirty newly developed tanks."

"That's pretty close to the North Star, just east of it." remarked another officer. "They might try and take it." They all knew it would mean big trouble if they did.

"It's impossible," remarked an older officer near the foot of the table. "The prophecy clearly states that it will only fall to a creature both monster and man, wielding three arms and three swords together."

"In any case," said the officer with the stick. "The rebels don't stand a chance against our tanks."

Flame King had only recently learned of this new weapon, developed by a research institution, whose funding his daughter had raised. A tank was powered by a lubricated stone mechanism that relied on trapped heat, which forced the moveable parts to propel the motor. It was all housed within a stone frame, with rows of thick-toothed cogs for wheels. Tests showed it was nigh invulnerable to every weapon in the Fire Kingdom arsenal. And its pressure cannon could unleash a stream of impact bombs from within its hull, where the supply of them were safe from a chain explosion.

With thirty of these unstoppable juggernauts, the rebels would indeed have no chance. But then, a new possibility entered his mind. "What if..." Flame King said out loud, "what if the rebels captured our tanks, even one of them? It might allow them to take the North Star."

"See here," said the elderly officer. "Only the creature depicted in the prophecy can-"

Flame King hit the table, sending a light tremor. "The North Star would fall in an instant if it didn't have a garrison!" He looked along the rows of the massive stone slab comprising the table. "The tank is a new weapon; the North Star has never been attacked by one. That makes it a liability. If the rebels take the North Star, the rebellion will gain supporters and momentum, and the conflict will become long, and destructive. The Fire Kingdom is on Brimstone's immediate agenda, so we cannot afford that."

* * *

The fire elemental warriors knew he wasn't of their race, and attacked him with fire shot out of their bodies. But with the immense protective power of his pendant, it barely tickled him.

Craw sliced through their ranks with speed, power, and rage. It was in the heat of battle he truly felt alive, felt he didn't need to restrain himself. The unleashing of all his reserved energy took lives, but these were lives that gave themselves to the sword. They were soldiers, people trained to kill.

As he cut through the flame warriors, his metal swords became hot; brittle. And so he took a stone pike from a fallen enemy, and used that instead. He preferred swords, but adaptability seasoned through years of guerrilla warfare made him adept with nearly any kind of weapon.

The enemy army was in marching formation when his four thousand struck, and they were caught completely unprepared. His own, smaller force kept up the attack, not relenting, not stopping, not allowing the enemy an inch to adjust, and not a moment to breathe.

In spite of the enemy outnumbering him three to one, his relentless force spread itself thin enough to screen every enemy battlegroup at once. It simply wouldn't do to allow even a single enemy unit to be free to maneuver. And his own force didn't need time to readjust its formation; his men were experienced enough to efficiently take battle formations that they weren't specifically drilled in.

He passed by rows of abanoned artillery pieces; carved stone tubes on wheels, pulled in traces by pack animals. The enemy didn't have any time at all to set them up. The enemy had cavalry, but the suddenness of the attack caused a large number of them to become pinned between their allied infantry and Craw's army, preventing them from using their speed to get away and attack from a more favorable position. The enemy had flying units as well, which were cavalry mounted on winged snake-like animals, their lift coming from natural bags of lighter than air gas, and umbrella-like wings that took in heat rising from the ground. They went down like flies as the battlefield rang with hundreds of gunshots.

He saw enemy officers on mounts try and rally their forces to effectively counter the sudden, and determined assault on them, but anybody who attracted attention in this way was quickly gunned down. it was a standing order that anybody who looked like an officer was to be... prioritized.

Craw continued to advance along the battlefield. Any fire elementals who spotted him came at him. And anybody who came at him was taken down. They didn't stand a chance. Even if they came at him from all directions, they were to him slow, and feeble, and unskilled.

Even during his early youth, he felt himself a league above others, above the way they did things, thought, and even felt. He did things with drive and precision. Then he would see others do the same things, and see how much they lacked. It was in war that this difference vivified and became inarguable. He could destroy them with his skill, drive and intellect, made physical, made into undefiable power.

In equal measure, he also felt himself tied to others. He resented this. And it was with this that he loved fighting, loved seeing others get beaten by all that he was.

He was more skilled than they, and so they were beaten by him in combat. He was driven, and so he would not lose his guard, but they would lose theirs with time, and he could exploit it. He had superior intellect, and so his army was directed closer to victory, and theirs manipulated closer to defeat.

He brought his improvised pike up, and brought it down, unleashing a wave of condensed air that plowed away all in its path.

* * *

When Cinnamon Bun returned to the rebel camp, hidden in the southern mountains, he heard the men chanting, two words, and coming from the northern entrance.

" _Tank-man! Tank-man! Tank-man!"_

As he rode back into the camp, he stopped somebody getting into the chant, and asked him what was going on.

"Tank man wasted the enemy." The rebel soldier explained.

"What enemy?"

"The Royal Army got real close to us, and we sortied out to hit them, and maybe draw them away."

"What!" Cinnamon Bun exclaimed. "I didn't authorize a direct attack on them!"

He shrugged, "if we hadn't they would have wandered straight into our camp. There was no time to pack up, so we tried to take the initiative."

Cinnamon Bun took a deep breath, trying to be calm about it. The rebels made a serious misstep, but it seemed to have ended well. "You say they had tanks?"

He nodded. "About a score of them. But Tank Man appeared, and saved our hineys! Them tanks thought they had us, but Tank Man came along, and cut them up like they were nothing!"

He suddenly wanted to meet somebody who could do this. "Where is this 'Tank Man?'" It was clear enough that Tank Man was a nickname.

The rebel soldier indicated to the northeast. "He's coming in the north gate."

"Thank you," he rode along, heading across the makeshift road of the camp, heading to the north gate. The rebel camp was a wide clearing, tucked within extremely tall mountains that rose almost vertically, providing a rare case of wide space. It was also perfectly concealed from aerial scouts; a flyer would have to fly directly over the camp, and look straight down in order to spot it.

He reached the north gate, and saw several hundred rebel troops coming in. Many were wounded, some to the point of needing to be carried. The wounded were loaded on medivac pallets, being pulled or carried by their mounts. Those cavalrymen who were unhurt traveled on foot to make room.

The focus of the chanting entered the camp, and as the rebels made way for him, he came into Cinnamon Bun's view.

It was Finn.

The rebels all looked at him like a savior, continuing to chant his nickname. "Nobody messes with the Tank Man!" Shouted a random person.

Cinnamon Bun began to grin, ear to ear. And he dismounted, walking briskly up to Finn. Not caring about what he was doing that second, he spread his arms, "Aaahh!" He exclaimed in a rising tone as he took the human up in a bear hug. "Come here you sight for sore eyes!"

"Hey, CB."

"Let's have a look at you." He held him at arm's reach. "What's happened to your arm?"

Finn shut his eyes, frowning, "it's a long story."

"Well, what brings you to this fair kingdom of fire?"

"That's a longer story. Hey, CB..."

Cinnamon Bun walked beside Finn, taking him deeper into the camp. "Well make yourself at home, if there's anything you need-"

"You wouldn't happen to have water, would you?"

"Oh..." He slowed down, realizing that Finn was a human; a water elemental. "You must be parched. How long have you been in the Fire Kingdom?"

"At least a day. I think I might die."

Cinnamon Bun nodded, and nodded again, "mm-mm, mm-mm. We got a few drums of it at the supply depot," He shoved Finn Forward, deeper toward the camp. "Make yourself at home there." He turned around. "I need to get a full report from the boys coming home."

* * *

Craw sat on a sizable rock in what was the battlefield. The Fire Kingdom force was put into complete rout. He himself struck down their commander. He could have given chase, and trapped the fleeing remnant of the enemy force, but decided against it, knowing full well what a cornered beast was capable of. His army was regrouping, tending their wounded, and tending the enemy wounded as prisoner. This was routine for post-battle.

A soldier ran up, and stopped near him. "Sir, we've captured their artillery pieces intact. What would you have done with them?"

Craw lifted his head a bit, "do we know how to use them?"

"No."

He waved it off, "destroy them then. Better to travel light anyway."

The soldier saluted, and took his leave.

Craw knew his presence was not needed any further. He didn't believe in micromanagement.

He turned his head to a deserted geyser field nearby. Now he could see to his guest.

Craw got up, and headed into the geyser field, away from the view of his soldiers. He wandered the geyser field, and after picking a spot, he stopped. "You can come out now. I'm alone."

The guest came into view, she looked like a girl in her late teens. She was pale, with a huge, thick mane of raven hair, and a bite mark on her neck. She stopped in front of Craw.

He waited for her to say something.

She didn't speak.

He took a breath. "Is there a reason you've been spying on me?"

She let her feet settle on the ground. "You are a contemptible monster." She said frankly.

"Oh?" He suddenly felt interested in this girl. "I hope you have a case to back that up."

She looked him in the eye with a viper's gaze. "Your losses of that battle-"

"Fifty two of my men are dead, and another hundred and seventy four wounded." He stated plainly. "I'm not faking reality."

She got slightly indignant, but kept her viper-like gaze. "You came here for no other reason than glory. There's no way your tiny army can take an entire kingdom."

"I've done it before, besides, can you imagine the losses a large force would take in this dangerous land?"

"You led your men to slaughter, and they came out thanks to their own skill. You fight like a barbarian, with no sense of tact or-"

"The strongest tactic of all is your enemy's unpreparedness to receive you. I gained the upper hand, and pressed that upper hand. Though I can understand an outsider, or amateur not recognizing the efficacy of such a stratagem."

She shook her head. "That battle was in order to get that Fire Kingdom army out of your way as soon as possible. You're impatient."

"You're right, I want to end this as quickly as I can. But what you don't understand is that that's the best way to minimize fatalities; ending the war as soon as possible. If rapid progress costs another hundred thousand soldiers whose lives would have otherwise been spared, and the war ends a year sooner, then it's worth it."

She paused for several long seconds. "The way he described you, I thought you were a dumb brute. I could have pitied a dumb brute."

"He..? So Finn is alive, is he?"

She frowned, "how did you-"

"It's amazing, really, how a singular purpose makes everything so... simple." He began to pace left and right in a brief line. "You see, before this battle, I hadn't killed a single thing since I got here. You're clearly here for a vendetta, as why else would a vampire come to this smoldering hell? You're clearly stalking after me, but I have no relations, no contacts with anybody on this continent, that's how I know you're here for something significant I must have done to somebody here, the only real instance of which, before this battle, was lopping that boy's arm off. And so I know for certain you're an acquaintance of Finn, and are here to get back at me for what I did to him."

She didn't change her expression. "You meant to kill Finn."

"That I did. He's lucky to be alive."

Her breathing became more rapid. "I saw you fight, and yes, you have a point. Finn was an idiot to attack you. But he... he's..."

"Pure?"

"Yes! He's honest, good. Not like you or me. Even if he'd beaten you, he would never have killed you, like you tried to do to him."

He shrugged. "This world is changing, vampire. What I did will benefit him in the long run."

"He shouldn't have to change! Your world comes here as an invasion; as unjust. It has no right to be here!" She burst out.

"Unjust? No right to be here?" Craw stepped forward. "Maybe it is an injustice that he have to change, that his purity be tarnished. But that doesn't mean the world should change for him. Make no mistake, in this changing world, he will either adapt, or die."

She sobered. "So that's it? Either adapt or die? The law of the jungle, nothing higher than that? Nothing... brighter?"

Craw sobered as well. He took a deep breath before continuing. "I will never look upon a corpse as a favorable state of being. Nor will I ever look upon failure as the right thing to have done."

She put her hands behind her back, absently and gently kicking at the ground. "I... had a doll, a teddy bear, named Hambo. He was my best friend, and for a while, my only friend. I kept him with me as I grew older, because even though he was raggedy, and sometimes I needed to fix him, he was still my best friend. Even after I got other friends, and a boyfriend, I kept Hambo with me. Hambo was my best friend, and nothing would ever change that."

"That's... touching." His eyes were shut. "What's your point?"

"Did you ever have a Hambo, Craw?"

He clenched his teeth.

"No, you probably threw your Hambo away before it could become important to you."

He intook his next breath with deliberation. "My... childhood, was horrific. Not something anybody should be burdened with knowing the details of."

She hmphed. "My childhood was pretty crappy too, you know. Until Simon came along, I was all alone."

"I didn't have a Simon. I had to learn to protect myself."

"Finn didn't need to. His upbringing was high and happy."

"Evidently-"

She put up a finger, cutting him off. "He was taken in as an infant by a family of dogs, who lovingly raised him. Even once he began living on his own, he had Jake; an amazing older brother, who protected him from things beyond his league, and gave him life advice, without patronizing or demeaning him. And you know something? I'm not jealous, that his upbringing was happy and bright. In fact, when I look at it, a part of me feels... healed. I'm glad, and fortunate to have seen what a happy upbringing looks like. I've profited from it."

"Well good for Finn, and you." He said in a low, dispassionate tone.

"And I think, if you had gotten to see it, you would have felt healed too."

"Are you here to fight me or not!" He exclaimed abruptly, holding a sheathed sword in a vicegrip.

She blinked slowly, subtly backing her head away. She then turned, and walked away. "No. You're right that this world is changing, and you're probably not responsible for that." She disappeared from view.

Craw was left in the misty geyser field, alone. His face remained tight, his breathing had neither control nor relaxation.

* * *

Finn awoke from sleeping. He was inside Cinnamon Bun's tent in the rebel camp. Cinnamon Bun was on the other end of the cramped shelter, still fast asleep. Finn didn't know what woke him, or how long he'd been asleep. But he felt a subtle, chilling fear from something his mind placed as an abstraction outside the tent where he couldn't see anything.

He got up, still wearing his fireproof suit even in sleep, and opened the flap of the tent.

The first thing he saw were two glowing lights, one red and the other green. They were the eyes of a figure standing alone in the quiet camp, a figure was staring straight at the tent from a moderate distance.

Staring straight at him.

There was no doubt that whoever this was saw him, yet still it stood there, still as a statue. The figure was concealed in a flowing black cloak.

Finn gathered his nerves, and walked out of the tent, approaching the figure.

"Are you Finn the Human?" The figure's voice was that of a woman.

He stopped close to her. "Who's asking?"

She lifted her head and cowl. "I am called Vang Hespiris." Her revealed face was comprised one half of machinery, and the other of a thickened, black exocovering.

He had no reason to lie about who he was. At least, none that made sense. "I am Finn, the Human."

She nodded, slightly. "Where is the one called Bubblegum?"

He frowned, "why do you want to know that?"

"The interrogations turned up nothing but you. You are my only lead, and I need to find her. So I ask again: where is the one you call Bubblegum?"

"I-"

"And do not attempt to lie to me. My left ear," she gestured her head in the direction of her mechanical half. "Is highly acute; I can hear your heartbeat."

Jake explained to him once that when somebody lied, their heart rate changed slightly. Even the most gifted liars could not cover it up. "I don't know where she is."

"Do you know anybody who does?"

He couldn't lie to her. He had a certain intuition regarding people, and this was somebody who could turn hostile at the drop of a hat. "She contacted me once, through a messenger."

"What did the messenger tell you?"

"To come here, nothing else."

"Who was the messenger?"

Finn's brow furrowed. "Why are you looking for PB?"

"That's something between me and her. I cannot disclose it to you."

He looked at her unchanging, differently colored eyes. And saw a dispassion that filled his inner psyche with a sense of horror. He realized that this was someone who would take life without even blinking. "You want to kill her, don't you?"

"Do you know anything, or not? Do not lie."

"No, I don't."

She turned to leave.

"You work for Brimstone, don't you?"

She stopped. "The empress of Brimstone... I would gladly die to protect her. But I am much better at killing those... who threaten." She continued walking away, out of the silent camp.

Finn let her leave. His first impulse was to judge her as pure evil, but he disciplined himself against it. She, Craw, Brimstone, they were a culture he did not understand. And he could never condemn something he didn't understand, no matter how much such a thing ended up hurting him.


	14. Another Turning of the Page

**The Past**

Clay shingles comprising the roofs of thickly packed buildings. These were the first thing Gates took notice of when he came to the main residential district of the city. Winter was well settled in, and snow poured from the sky with gentle consistency. The warmth created by the town's fires and residents caused the snow to melt, and so the streets were wet with slush.

In spite of the dim sky, it was the middle of the day, and the streets were packed with crowds of people going about their business. Most were humanoids and semi-humanoids with fur. All of various races that developed from semi-sentients, which further in the past, evolved from lesser mammals. There was the occasional wind or earth elemental as well.

Gates was like them. Being of a special, scarcely numbered breed of horses which had, about a hundred years ago, developed full sentience.

He followed the street. It wound downhill, flanked by tightly packed residential buildings. Most were run-down, and none were appealing to the eye. Many open flames could be seen coming out of lidless steel drums, all had at least three or four raggedly bundled up people gathered around them for warmth. Many had their bare feet raised to the flame, in an effort to warm them against the chilling snow and slush all about the streets. For most in this city, decent footwear was a barely affordable luxury.

It was like this all over the city. Yet in spite of this, it wasn't the worst town Gates had been to. He had seen worse, much worse.

Gates did not live in this city. He was here for business. That business involved assessing the local populace, in order to determine the liabilities of developing the surrounding land. Twenty years as head of the Van Duke conglomerate had taught him that there were always liabilities to coming in and building mines, new roads and the like. Usually from the local government. Sometimes they forbade any purchase or leasing of property within their domain. The more clever warlords let him come in, and set up shop. Then they imposed ludicrously high taxes, forcing his conglomerate to close shop in that area in order to cut their losses.

But sometimes he found a place where it was just safe enough. Where the populace learned to like his organization coming in and changing things. A place where the people were destitute, but not ignorant, and appreciated the paying work brought by mines and sawmills. And new roads that allowed tradesmen to come and do business, buying things the territory had in abundance, and selling things that couldn't be got locally. A place where the government, if there was any, was insignificant or reasonable enough not to wreck things.

Economics were Gates' business. And he was here on business. The business of evaluating an entire city's character.

It was something he could only do himself. He had a sixth sense for what the mindset was for the majority of a people; an eye for the public mind. All he needed to see was their eyes, their postures, and the circumstances surrounding them. He used visual evidence to look into their minds with an unbiased insight.

The city was located far north, almost to the frozen region but not quite. Still, the soil was hard and cold, summers were short and winters were brutal. There existed crops and livestock that could be raised on land such as this. But otherwise, the town was able to grow for no other reason than the land was worth so little, no warlord found it worth invading and pillaging.

But Gates knew this land had resources. All it required was an investment, of manpower and equipment, to develop it. East of the city was a field, in which oil sat upon the surface, it was easily possible there was much more under the ground. West of the city were hills, which geological survey showed were rich with iron ore.

As he surveyed the city, he knew it was worth coming to. This place would be worth the investment. The people here had common sense, and came here because they wanted refuge from the wars and squabbling happening all over the continent. If he built here, nobody would get in the way. Physically, the majority of adults looked fit enough to be hired for the development work; laying the foundations.

Gates rounded a corner. His hoofs immune to the cold street. The road ended its downhill turn, and junctioned into a straight, level road closer to the heart of the city. The change in district brought no change to the scenery. People were still dressed in rags, and gathered around the occasional fire.

He was done here for now. It was time to leave down, and return to his headquarters in the more temperate Fillmore region. Once out of the city, he could get on all fours and gallop there, making good time.

"What do you eat?"

The voice came from his left. It was that of a girl. Gates turned, and saw a small figure sitting on a wide, stood up piece of firewood. She was bundled in so many salvaged pieces of rag and cloth that he couldn't make out anything about her appearance. Her tone was too quiet, and everybody else on the street too far away for the question to be directed at anybody but him. Gates decided to answer, but first, being a polite horse, he lowered himself on all fours so his head would be closer to her height level. Then he backed and turned so they'd be face to face. "I am a herbivore, young lady, like my ancestors."

"You wouldn't eat meat?"

He smiled slightly to himself, waggling his horse head in indication of 'no'. "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. I haven't the teeth nor the stomach."

"I see..."

"Why do you ask?" His nostrils flared open with an intake of breath. He had a reflex to smell new things and people. That included this frail little girl.

She lifted a finger and pointed across the street. Gates followed the direction with his head, and saw a barrel fire with five people gathered around it. Above the fire was a spit. Cooking on this spit was a small, roasted animal. Its skin was cooked; its fur, gone. It was certainly dead. Gates turned back to the girl. "Was that someone you knew?"

She nodded underneath her makeshift hood. "His name was Muffles. He was my friend. I came back here, where he normally lives, and found him..." She stopped speaking. He couldn't see her face, but knew it was strained. "Like that. You're a horse, but not a horse, because you walk on two legs and talk, so I was curious if you..."

Gates didn't know what to say to this child. The people who caught and killed her friend obviously did it because they were hungry. They weren't to blame. But still, it felt like it would be wrong to tell her that. It's not like anything he said would make her forget that she loved that creature; now dead and roasting over a fire.

"I know," she continued. "I know they're just hungry. It's not like Muffles was a real person. And he didn't really belong to me. It would be wrong to tell them they should just stay hungry..."

Gates was cut off from his train of thought. He seriously didn't expect her to say this.

She looked him in the eyes, her own visible through a slit in her head bundle. "But the question is still there, why were those people hungry to begin with?"

Gates stared at this girl, affixed by words he'd never imagined a child would say. It was obvious she was an orphan, and probably couldn't read. It was not likely she was just quoting something. They were her own words. "Could I... see your face, young lady? If you don't mind, that is."

"It's cold here, but okay." She reached up, carefully pulling the rags around her head in opposite directions. She let them fall on her shoulders. The revealed face didn't have any fur, her skin was raven black, and matte as stone, lacking in any glint. Her hair was a bold, blazing red.

Gates recognized her as a native Aitosian. It was strange seeing one north of the Aitos region. When the natives were driven from Aitos, they all made the decision to go south rather than north, as they were all very sensitive to cold. This small girl must have traveled alone, and didn't have the adult's sense of direction, thereby ending up here. Gates took a step forward, sniffing her again in earnest. "What is your name?"

She paused for a moment. Then, her lips parted to speak. "I'm Karas, my family name is Brimstone."

He looked into her eyes, and saw something that made his emotions bubble up to the surface. There was something there, that he couldn't deny and couldn't repress. "You are just the cutest little thing!" He exclaimed as his head extended to her face, and he licked her cheek with his big horse tongue.

This made her giggle and almost lean off the log she was sitting on. She quickly dried the wet spot with her makeshift mitten. "Okay, enough." She said, still giggling.

"How would you like to come to Fillmore with me?" His mind was made up. This fascinating little girl would become his understudy. They'd only just met, but Gates believed in capitalizing on all fortunate circumstances.

Her mood sobered, her eyes wide as beads. "What..?"

"Do you have family?" He knew the answer, but it was still polite to ask.

"No."

"Friends?"

She looked past him, at the animal roasting across the street. "Not anymore."

"Then there's nothing keeping you here."

She looked back at him. "That's really nice of you, but we've only just met. For all I know you might be a slaver or something, sweet-talking me into coming along."

This was a reasonable suspicion, thought Gates. But insightful as this girl was, she was still a child. He lifted his eyebrows. "It's warm in Fillmore, really warm."

Her face softened, and her eyes opened more as she took an excited inhale. "Really? It is?"

Gates walked away, turning on all fours to show he was going now. "Meet me at the south gate, in one hour, if you'd like to come."

In one hour's time, Gates left the city, and the small girl was riding atop his back. They were in the clear, away from the town and noise. Gates trotted gracefully along the road, carrying her through the snow-ridden fields. As they departed together, she asked, "What's your name?"

His head turned back to look at her directly. "I am the horse who runs the Van Duke conglomerate. My name, young lady, is Gates."

* * *

 **The Present**

Fireproof... but not heat-proof. These were the words at the front of Finn's mind as he awoke. He pushed himself on his feet as he shook himself off from restless, tiring sleep spent inside his fireproof suit. He was extremely hot, and his body drenched in sweat. Glob was to be thanked, that he wasn't the type to notice his own body odor. He probably smelled terrible.

Finn the Human was inside Cinnamon Bun's tent, and was sleeping on the ground, as the dirt was softer than what fire elementals preferred to sleep on. Cinnamon Bun was gone.

Finn went outside, and found the sky to be brightened by the sun. But not by much, the Fire Kingdom sky was always choked by smog and ash clouds. He had been staying at the rebel camp for two nights, now. And the previous day he'd spent training and thinking about what to say to Cinnamon Bun. He wanted to join up with him, and help find Flame Princess. But figured he'd try and pitch it delicately to CB.

He had to relieve himself, and went through the camp looking for someplace private to do so. He made his way past the rows of laid out sleeping pads, and parked carts loaded with supplies and spare weapons. A lot of soldiers were still asleep, suggesting it was the early morning.

He reached the edge of the camp, which was right up to a sheer rock face. The camp was surrounded by these titanic stone mesas. He spotted Cinnamon Bun, with his easy to distinguish blue flame barrier, sitting on an elevated area of rock that was part of the rock face.

He looked down, at Finn. "It's alright, you can do your business here." He leveled his head to look back at the camp. "Lots of other guys do it here, it's no biggies."

Finn went over to the right, behind Cinnamon Bun's vantage point. He undid the fly on his suit, and worked it out to let the waterway open. He had something to say, and since evidently Cinnamon Bun wasn't uncomfortable with him relieving himself, he decided to go ahead and say it. "Hey, CB?"

"What is it?" He said calmly.

"About Flame Princess..."

"What about her?"

Was he leading him on? There was no way Cinnamon Bun wouldn't know what he was talking about. Finn took a deep breath, and decided to be blunt and honest. "Look, I want to help you save her, but..."

"But what?"

He zipped up his fly, all finished, and walked in front of his vantage point. "I'm not going to be uncool about it."

Half his face was scrunched. "Finn, I don't know what you're talking about."

"I mean that I'm not going to swoop in like a gallant, flawless hero and save her like it's a fairy book. That's not what I'm here to do."

There was a long, tense pause before Cinnamon Bun leaped off his vantage point, landed on his feet and walked him by. "Well that's a damn shame, Finn."

"Huh?" His face was locked on Cinnamon Bun, which caused him to turn around as he passed him.

"Come on, walk and talk."

Finn caught up to his side, walking in sync. "What do you mean, 'that's a shame'?"

"I mean..." He said as they reentered the outskirts of the rebel camp. "She needs somebody to do that, badly. In a darkened world like this, she could certainly do for a hero from the fairy books."

Finn was taken aback by this. "And.. do you think you could do those things, be those things?" Cinnamon Bun really was a completely different pastry than the one he knew from the Candy Kingdom.

He looked at Finn. "It doesn't matter, that's a moot question." He looked ahead. "I need to be; she, needs somebody to be." His face scrunched. "She thinks she needs to carry everything on her own. And I..."

"You want to help her, right? Carry some of her burden." That was what was on his own mind. So he asked in order to affirm it in Cinnamon Bun.

They walked a bit before he replied. "I.. want to prove her wrong. Prove that she can count on somebody other than herself. I don't care who it is, as long as she's proven wrong." He indicated his surroundings. "I seriously doubt my ability to accomplish this. This is all gripped by my fingernails."

"Well, I don't know about that, CB." Finn was trying to scratch the back of his head through his helmet. "We won that battle a couple days ago, and spirits seem high."

"Wrong, Finn, wrong." He was speaking low and fast. Tense, but composed. He pointed out to the camp in a random direction. "This is like if Nietzsche, and Tolstoy had a baby, and named it this, exact, situation. The enemy has everything. Whereas I'm stuck in the mountains, and morale is eroding a little bit more every day."

Finn had nothing to say to that. They walked in silence through the camp. It was a quiet morning, most were still asleep. Finn was the one to resume the conversation. "CB, whether we find her or not, whether you win this or not."

"We are going to rescue her. Don't you dare doubt it." He said in a sudden change in mood. "I may not be able to win this, but she most certainly can."

Finn stepped ahead and in front of him, stopping them both. "CB, I've decided that I'm in this for the long haul. And since you're the leader of this outfit, I'll take orders from you."

"Finn," He accepted their stop. "Are you... seriously, volunteering to join us full-time?"

He nodded.

"You'll follow orders?"

"Of course."

He closed his eyes, turning into himself to consider this. After a moment, he opened them again. "Alright, you're in. There's going to be a strategy meeting, in my tent at noon. Be there."

"You don't want to know why?"

"Why what?"

Finn was expecting him to ask, since he didn't, he brought it up himself. "Why I'm voluntarily signing on to this. I mean..." He indicated their surroundings, the rebel camp. "I'm not dumb, I know you guys are outnumbered, out-positioned, and hunted. I wouldn't be surprised if you were thinking about throwing in the towel."

He shook his head. "I'm not throwing in the towel."

Finn frowned at his bravado. "Do you have a plan?" The area his arm was cut off hadn't fully healed. Sometimes it began hurting. The idea of charging in without a plan made him very skeptical now.

He looked at Finn's missing arm. "I had thought losing your arm would at least make you a bit more moderate, Finn. When I saw it, I thought you wouldn't even consider joining us on the long run."

"You... never asked how I lost it."

"Of course not. It's none of my business..."

"CB, I am more moderate now, make no mistake. I'm a teenager, not a moron, but..." His eyes were shut.

"What is it, Finn?" He shifted the baldric holding his lance on his back to a more comfortable spot, patiently accepting a long term talk in the middle of the camp.

"CB, do you know about the Brimstone Empire?"

He shook his head. "No, I don't. Is that the name of some mining company somewhere?"

This surprised Finn, although he knew it should come as no surprise. It's not as though rebels have newspaper subscriptions. "CB, I don't have a soft way of putting this. The Candy Kingdom has been invaded, and taken over."

Cinnamon Bun didn't absorb this right away. "Finn, that's preposterous. Nobody in Ooo has the stones to mess with Princess Bubblegum, not even Her Highness."

"These people aren't from the Land of Ooo."

"You..." a brief pause. "You really aren't joking."

"I'm not."

"What..." he needed a second to take this in.

Finn was surprised he didn't lose his cool at this news. Cinnamon Bun had spent most of his life living in the Candy Kingdom.

"What has become of Princess Bubblegum?"

"She's alive, CB, and in hiding. Not even I know where."

Cinnamon Bun nodded. "Was it during this invasion of foreigners that you lost your..?"

"Yes, that's what I've been getting to. The reason I'm signing on to this." He met Cinnamon Bun in the eyes; what he meant to convey could only be done without words.

"I see, Finn. You need to be challenged. You need to become stronger, and you need it to happen fast."

Finn affirmed this with silence. Then spoke. "The guy who did it to me... I didn't stand a chance against him."

"I understand how you feel, Finn. And now I see what's causing this change in you."

Finn continued. "PB's palace was destroyed, and Marceline told me that the guy who cut off my arm was buried alive inside. He might be dead. And I would love to believe that's true. But a part of me... a part of me I've been listening to more and more, is telling me I know better."

"So... when you face him again..."

Finn nodded. "I want to be ready. I, need, to be ready. I barely escaped with my life last time."

Cinnamon Bun took a deep breath. "Alright, but in the meantime." He walked away. "Strategy meeting, my tent, twelve-hundred hours on the dot." He said lightly and easily.

* * *

Jake the Dog was slouched on a couch, watching television. He was inside of a deep hovel he'd dug out. It was located hundreds of miles southeast of the Candy Kingdom; well out of Brimstone's reach. His belly cut was stitched and healing nicely. While he was able to move his organs out of harm's way, his skin was nonetheless sliced open. Jake's powers allowed for changing his form and shape, but real damage had to recover naturally. Once, when poisoned, he was able to save himself by making his liver giant, and letting it perform its natural function in a much bigger capacity.

After dropping Finn at Marceline's, he found Lady Rainicorn, and told her about what happened. Together, they rounded up their kids and fled. Though they weren't able to find or contact their daughter, Jake Jr. They figured she could take care of herself.

A telecommunications lab, occupied by geeks nearby was constantly broadcasting analog video signals. The TV was adorned on its top with bunny-ear antennae. And the bottom of the screen was occupied by a live newsreel talking about the invasion up north. The show he was watching was a movie about a guy named Cortez. And the tribes of natives he looted and oppressed after landing on their shore.

Jake was watching intently, though for no particular reason other than that he didn't feel like going outside. The story was centering around the primitives; the way these characters dealt with the invasion of foreigners. Drama, revolving around their impending destruction. The invaders were small in number, but had far more advanced weapons than them. And for this reason, they didn't stand a chance in open combat.

He felt Lady Rainicorn rest her head and front arms on his head. He silently shifted his head up, minimally, to return her gesture.

She said something, in Korean. It was a long sentence, with no breaks.

"I've been thinkin' about that, yeah." Jake replied in English. "We'd need to get everyone behind it, though. That's gonna be a tricky thing."

She replied, still speaking Korean, though she understood English perfectly when she heard it. Her sentence finished.

"They haven't seen the things we've seen, Lady. They won't believe us 'till that empire comes all the way down here and beats on their door."

Her next sentence was much shorter.

"No, I'm not calling it quits." The TV was still on, and he was still watching it naturally. "I just need to taper off, you know? Rapid change ain't good for one's health."

She walked off, muttering something to herself. She exited the hovel, shutting the door behind her.

"Finn'll be fine." He replied to the empty air she left behind. "Marcy won't let him do anything crazy."

* * *

Cinnamon Bun was standing at the head of the rock table in his tent. Others at the table included Finn, and a bunch of hardened, muscular Fire Kingdom soldiers who had long since shed most of their cumbersome armor and equipped themselves with an exuberant amount of weapons. They truly looked like ragtag rebels.

"Alright," began Cinnamon Bun. "Everybody got here, good." He indicated Finn. "Everyone, this is Finn, otherwise known around the camp as the Tank Man. He's volunteered to join our cause, and is here at the table by my request."

They all turned and nodded his way. A couple of them said "hi," and one guy next to him shook his hand.

"Finn," Cinnamon Bun continued the introduction. "These men are veteran officers in Her Highness' Royal Army." He moved his hand along their faces, calling a bunch of names: "Blair, Bartholomew, Jefferson, Momie, Hammer, Ramses, Dennis, and Daniel." They each nodded as he called their names and browsed his hand over them. "I won't bother with their ranks, as rank isn't relevant right now."

"Hello everybody." Finn said naturally.

"Now, time to talk business." Said Cinnamon Bun. "As you should all be up to speed on, our primary objective is to-"

"Locate and rescue Flame Princess, right?" Finn said.

"Search and rescue, exactly correct Finn." Cinnamon Bun tapped the table. "Hammer, lay down the mid-south region map."

The elemental in question turned around and bent over. He picked up a granite slab from a rack of them on the ground, and then lay it on the table. It was a carved, 3-dimensional rendering of a region of the Fire Kingdom. In the center was a tall range of mountains. The tallest was a building, a fortress; the North Star.

Cinnamon Bun continued. "This is a map of the area surrounding the North Star. It's certain they're keeping Her Highness in its dungeons."

"What are the cells like?" Finn asked.

One of the officers looked at him. "They're just like the lamp above the throne room of the palace, only buried in stone where there's nothing to see. The only way to get out is if a lift is lowered for you."

"Just as well you know that, Finn." Said Cinnamon Bun. "Because you're going in there."

Finn, and every elemental in the tent looked straight at Cinnamon Bun.

Cinnamon met their gazes without any humor or irony. "Let me explain the plan. I want you all to keep patient, and your mouths shut until I'm finished." He indicated a spot of the mountains due south of the North Star. "I have Martin and his guys setting up a big pressure cannon here. The spot is well out of the range of their regular patrols." He lifted a finger up, and arced it toward the towering fortress. "We're gonna launch Finn the Human, out of this pressure cannon on a hang glider, since we don't have any gas lizards it'll have to be a glider, and he'll make his way..." He moved his finger to the tower of the North Star, protruding from the 3-dimensional granite map. "To the upper area of this. Once inside, he'll make his way, undetected, to the dungeons. And then he'll free Her Highness from her incarceration. Any questions?"

Finn raised his hand, along with three of the officers.

"What do you need to know, Finn?"

Finn lowered his hand. "Okay, say I get in there, and I free Flame Princess. How do we get out? What's our exit strategy?"

The other officers lowered their hands; they had the same question.

"The same way you came in." Replied Cinnamon Bun. "You'll land at a high spot, and have plenty of height to glide away on. The glider should support your weight, and that of Her Highness."

"Can't she just fly away once she's out of her cell?"

"Even if that weren't extremely high profile." Said Cinnamon Bun. "They're probably keeping her in a weakened state. I don't want to take any chances. While you're sneaking out..." He grabbed a big, folded black cloth from next to his bed. "I want you to wrap her in this fireproof tarp, so her glow doesn't give away your presence, in the sky or in the fortress.

Finn was trying to rub his forehead. "That's a lot of details..."

"Finn, I would normally only risk my self on a mission this dangerous. But I can't survive here without my flame shield, and it doesn't exactly do a good job concealing me against the night sky."

"We're doing it tonight?"

"Yes."

Finn was quiet, deep in thought. "I need to know a few more details."

"What do you need to know?"

"How tough are the guards at that place?"

"Crazy tough, and they don't mess around. You'll want to stealth it."

"And... how many?"

"That's another thing." Cinnamon Bun continued, as though still briefing them. "Me and the cavalry are going to ride all through the countryside and raise hell while you're in there. This will hopefully draw some of the garrison out, and draw their attention away from you." He lifted his finger back, and stood up straight. "Does anybody have any further questions?" Nobody had any. "Great! Tonight..." He slammed on the table. "Tonight we kick some brass!"

* * *

Jake Jr. Strolled out of the house, singing to herself. It was a quiet evening in the Candy Kingdom capital. The Brimstone occupation eventually led to a lift in martial law, followed by the institution of a civilian police force to replace the far more strict military in the role of policing the city.

"And that is..." She followed up her train of thought with spoken words. She stopped in the middle of the road, and clicked her tongue, giving a hand signal to a purple gum ball who was holing a big riot shield. "Just wonderful for business." She finished the thought as the gum ball got between her and the house and shielded them both from it.

Her phone vibrated, and she took it out with her right hand, and then she took out a handle with a switch in her other hand, holding them both at the same time. She pressed answer on the phone as she brought it up to her ear. "Talk to me. …That sounds like a wonderful and fortuitous development of circumstantial fortune, Miccs. I'll be right over." She pressed the switch in her other hand, and there was an ear-shattering explosion accompanied by an orange glow behind her on the other side of the riot shield. "...No, Miccs, I'm fine. ...I just blew up some pathetic idiot's house. …Because he owes me money, that's why. You have to make an example of things or nobody ever pays you back... 'Kay, I'll be there in ten. Goodbye." She hung up on the phone just as a distressed candy corn man ran up approaching the house, stopping right next to her.

He ran his fingers of both hands through his top head. "Oh my glob!" He wailed. "My house!" He turned to Jake Jr. "Did you do this!" He was hysteric.

"Don't act all surprised, Reginald. I told you this would happen."

"I-" The house was blazing, with fire coming out of every window.

"I told you," she cut him off. "When I loaned you the money, I clearly told you, in a language you could clearly understand, that if you didn't pay me back on time I'd blow up your flipping house." She turned to the gum ball with the shield. "Did I not say that to him?"

"You sure did say that, JJ" the gumball replied in a rough, simpleminded tone.

"I sure did!~" She turned back to Reginald.

The candy corn man was still huffing and wheezing from shock. "I... I didn't know you meant it literally! I thought you were just illustrating your point!"

"Oh, but I am illustrating my point. Illustrating it right now." She indicated the burning, collapsing building lighting up the street. "I'm illustrating my point really well, yes?"

"Whaa!" He gripped his head, on his knees, unable to deal with the stress.

Jake Junior walked up, and placed a hand on his shoulder. Seconds passed, as the mood dulled its sharp edge. "Reginald..."

"Wha-?"

"Reginald, the money you owe me?"

"I don't-"

"Reggy, Reggy," her voice was soft and rapid. "You gotta pay me what you owe."

"But-"

"No no no," her lower, quieter voice kept cutting him off. "It's now or never."

There was a long silence, and then Reginald took out his bill fold and handed her two hundred and fifty dollars."

She took it. It was precisely the amount she lent him, and way less than the value of the house she blew up. "And the interest?" She walked past him, along the street.

"That... that's all the money I have on me, JJ."

"What was that?" She turned around. "Reggy, you owe me ten percent interest. I don't give loans to people because they're my friends or anything, you know that right?"

"Ten percent; that's only twenty five dollars!"

"That you owe me. You have twenty five bucks, right?"

"..No, I don't. That's all the money I have, is the two fifty."

She took out another detonator, and pressed it. Reginald's car burst into flame.

"Whaa!" The candy corn man restarted his exclamation. "How! How am I gonna get to work without my car!"

"Well, you can get a bicycle." She dropped his two hundred and fifty dollars on the ground next to him. "Tell you what, there's a dealer in the market. Come there tomorrow and I'll cut you a deal on a fresh new bike: Twenty five dollars." She walked away. "You can have the two fifty back, I already collected collateral." The late evening was lit orange by the burning house and car as she and the gum ball walked away down the street.

The gum ball caught up to her side. "Uh, JJ..."

"I'm done with ya tonight." She said in answer.

"Alright then, cool." He went in a different direction.

Jake Junior advanced along the street alone. Eventually reaching the maze of alleyways, at the end of which was Miccs' garage. She'd never really been here before, and didn't know the layout.

Miccs Milkshake was aware of this, and came out from around one of the corners. She was covered with grease, and big sleep lines ringed around her eyes. She stopped up to Jake Junior, and abiding by unspoken language, they went into the alleys together.

Miccs was the first to talk: "So you're loan-sharking now? What's next for you?"

"It's not loan-sharking." Jake Junior corrected as they rounded the first curve of the alleyway. "I only loan money with expressly established collateral. A loan shark maims or kills you if you fail to pay him back. All I did was blow up his junk."

"Are you going to do that every time they pay you back late?"

"Well, I wish I could just foreclose or something. But I'd need a lawyer or some good muscle to make that work."

"Well," They rounded the last corner, coming to Miccs' garage. The big door was left open to let fresh air in, and the lights inside were still on, as she was only gone a minute. "I don't know much about lawyering, but this new thing might fit the muscle bit pretty well."

"What kind of robot is it? I mean, what's its programming?"

"I don't know, I haven't turned it on for real yet."

"You haven't?" Jake Junior said in surprise. "When did you finish repairing it?"

"About ten minutes ago, right before giving you the call."

They crossed into the garage, and the ground gave way to a makeshift floor made up of unlevel concrete solution that was poured from a bucket and then evened out by hand with a hoe. "So..." Said Jake Jr. "For all you know it could be a killbot that'll rip our heads off?"

They stopped around an object covered by a rugged tarp. "A part of me doubts that."

"And what part of you doubts that? The part that watches that... friendly, kind of sci-fi? What was that called again..?" She mockingly tapped her chin in thought. "Star-Flash-Mc-Doesn't Exist-Trooper-Saga?"

Miccs took the tarp off. It was Sir Rattleballs. He was shut down, and frozen still. A long weld went along the area he was broken in half. "The part of me what doubts it, is the part that recognizes Princess Bubblegum's work from a mile away, even if I were wearing glasses and staring through a dust storm."

Jake Junior's eyes betrayed a strong sense of surprise. "Is that what I think it is?"

"The Gumball Guardians' model two point-oh, and predecessor to the Banana Guard. This is a real, genuine gumball enforcer. No, JJ, you're not dreaming."

"Where..?"

"I found him in the landfill outside the city, where the Nugondos moved the rubble of PB's palace."

Jake Junior ran her finger along the weld, feeling it. "Okay, turn him on."

Miccs walked over to a tall generator near the side wall. She switched on a key, and then moved a lever up in sync with turning the start on the key. The small lever settled on the top spot as the diesel motor started in earnest idle. It was connected to a thick belt, which was connected an elaborate rig of belts and wheels in which the motor's power spun an abundant number of salvaged car alternators. Which in turn were wired into individual transformers, and lastly an industrial-sized battery the size of a truck.

She proceeded to pick up a set of jumper cables hooked to the industrial-sized battery. And proceeded to clap the black one to Rattleballs' stiff, unmoving arm, and then stuck the other into a slot on his back. It tried to spark before fastening snugly on.

From the surge of power, the machine awoke. "I grant you, the gift of life!" Miccs recited excitedly.

* * *

Flame King was awoken from his usual routine of secretly napping on the throne in the afternoon. What did the waking was a loud commotion outside the throne room.

He heard fighting; battle.

He swiftly got on his feet, shaking the grog from his nap as heavy booming sounds could be heard in abundance.

He concluded it had to be the rebels. There was no way the Brimstone force could have come this far south so shortly. That's it, he thought. The rebels were launching a desperation attack with pilfered artillery. Flame King moved briskly toward the door of the throne hall, intending to get a report from the guard commander, and then a handle on the situation.

But as he approached the door, he saw it vibrate violently. The stone around its hinges began to crack.

Flame King immediately turned around and ran back up to the top of the throne's podium. The attackers had already breached to this hall, and he would greet them properly, he told himself.

With a resonant clang, the large door broke completely off its mount, and fell down into the throne room.

The dust behind cleared a bit, and what was revealed was a single figure, alone. To Flame King, it looked a lot like the grassland prince who came and took his daughter away not long ago, only a bit bigger. As the figure approached, more of the dust cleared, and he saw that it wasn't that guy. He looked similar; the same species, but his skin was much darker, to a level that could be safely described as brown. And his hair was visible, raven black, and combed back behind his shoulders. A caddy of swords and a stocky gun were strapped to his lower and upper back by baldrics. He didn't have a flame shield, which puzzled Flame king. How could any outsider survive here without one?

The dark human stopped at the edge of the toppled door. Without a word, he took out a tin can, and opened it with a release of small pressure from inside its previously airtight form.

Flame King realized that this person was alone. "Who dares intrude-"

The human cut him short with a raised finger, as he brought the can up to his mouth and gulped it. The gulping continued, hard swallow after hard swallow after yet more hard swallows. Until the can was completely empty and made crinkling sounds. Finished with it, he tossed it aside without a care, and then spoke: "You're not the flame frilly..."

Flame King realized he was talking about Flame Princess. "How is it you-"

"No no, hold on, let me figure it out." He cut him off again. "You don't look like a delegated minister, so not that. Your voice is too pompous to be her bodyguard. The fact you were just napping while I was making everything go to hell outside means you can't be an officer, at least not a good one."

"You are trying my-" His bellowing voice was cut off again.

"I'm afraid that I'm all out of possibilities! And to paraphrase a very smart man:" He raised a finger again. "If all other possibilities have been ruled out, then whatever remains, however unlikely, must be the truth: You're keeping the chair warm while she's away, literally, just keeping it toasty with your toasty bum bum."

Flame King felt disrespected, he didn't like that one bit. "Why, you..." His voice was growling.

"Or, you do it with your flatulence!"

"Impudent..."

"Do you people even have flatulence? I hope that doesn't sound racist; I'm just not clear on how-"

"Peon!" He bellowed. His flames fired up, and became rapid. "I will smush you like a bug." As he fired up, he advanced down the steps. He was much bigger than the mouthy human, and towered over him with an imposing stature. The human's metal swords and lead bullets would have no effect on his body of fire.

The smaller man frowned. "You, sir, are doing..."

Another thundering step.

"Exactly..."

The next thundering step.

"What every poor devil, in this entire Land of Ooo has tried against me..." When Flame King got close, he drew his gun, and pulled the front trigger, discharging all six barrels at Flame King's face.

And it was not lead, but dirt; sediment that was propelled into him. He fell back on the steps of the red throne, suddenly in immense pain. Dirt was unbearable for a fire elemental, as their bodies weren't quite hot enough to melt it, it stayed put in their system, clogging it up in random places. The only easy way to get it out was to bathe in magma.

Flame King rubbed his eyes clean so he could see. Groaning from the pain. When he could finally see, he saw the dark human was standing right up to him, extending a hand.

Craw lifted his eyebrows. "Look, I'm finished cracking humor, and you're finished acting like a pompous child. We can talk normally now, yes?"

Sophisticated... He took his hand, and let him help him up. "You're a lot different from the other human."

"Different as a bird is different from a fish. You may call me Craw."

"You know the other human, then?"

Craw backed up, giving Flame King some space. "Does dirt... kill you people."

"No. It weakens us, and makes life a living hell, but we'd have to be buried in the stuff for it to kill us."

"That's good to hear, because I pumped it into every guard I passed on the way here."

"They'll be fine." He turned, and calmly went back up the steps. "More importantly, what's your purpose here? Why are you looking for my daughter?" He decided to keep his thoughts to himself. He might be able to use this man.

"I'm looking for an item in her possession: The Sky Crystal."

Flame King turned back around, now at the top of the throne's podium. "Never heard of it."

"She would have returned to this kingdom with it, about a week and a half ago."

"Still nothing."

"It looks into people's minds."

 _Mory's crystal._ Flame King became intent. "That, rings bells. I know who has it, and it's not my daughter."

"Who, then?"

Flame King lifted a finger. "That information comes at a price." He had him now, this was good, this was his opportunity. The thing that would make everything go his way.

Craw took a breath. "What?"

"I want your army to leave this kingdom." He knew this man to be the commander of that Brimstone force. Descriptions from his informants described him as 'black, fleshy and long hair; behaves like an arse'. The person before him was exactly that.

"That's a deal," Craw answered. "If I have the crystal, then I've no reason to remain here."

"How did you know my daughter had it?"

"I let her walk away with it. But that was before I knew there was gonna be a war. Now there is, and that crystal stands to end it a lot sooner than otherwise. For that reason I'll sully mine honor, and take it by force if necessary. Now," he clapped his hands. "I have one more condition to add on my end."

"What?"

"I'm an officer of an empire, and that means I need to give a crap about... empire stuff. The thing with the Sky Crystal is a personal project."

"What do you want?"

He calmed, and rid emotion from his demeanor. He suddenly looked composed, almost mature. "That you allow me, and/or any representative of my choosing full and unrestricted access to your royal archives, as well as any information source, location, and site located in your kingdom."

Flame King imagined all the ancient texts, and buildings and landmarks of the Fire Kingdom, all held sacred by his culture. And he imagined some foreigner coming along, and doing as they pleased with them. This imagery provoked immense anger, in a very deep place. "You're asking for a lot, human."

Craw remained composed, focused and humorless. "It's the best peace treaty you're going to get, with the Brimstone Empire."

He let out a brief chuckle. "So now you're offering a lasting peace?"

"Yes I am." He inhaled. "I'm a very violent, and in battle sadistic person. But I've recently come to the distressing realization that I don't enjoy killing; I'd like to avoid it if possible. We need to be able to search your land freely, because we have to find a thing called the Floodgate."

Flame King shook his head. "I am familiar with our lore, and can vouch that there's nothing called a Floodgate anywhere in it."

"It has a bunch of different names, Floodgate is just the most common. If the empire can search your kingdom as it pleases, we won't have to conquer you."

"And a lowly warrior like yourself can just declare for your nation? Just like that?"

"Mr. Flame King, do you know what my rank is? In the Brimstone Military?"

He shook his head. "Of course not."

"Well, I'll never, ever, say it out loud, because it sounds gaudy as all bells, but it's probably the highest that exists. Plus I was named an ambassador to Ooo. So there's no doubt that I have signing powers."

Flame King found this human just as unbelievable as the last one. This was fitting perfectly in with his plans. "Alright, you have a deal, however, this land is currently in a state of upheaval."

"What are you getting at?"

He walked back down the steps, and pointed at Craw. "You, help me bring stability to this kingdom, and you will leave with a signed treaty of peace, and the Sky Crystal." When he got close, his pointed finger became an open hand. "Do we have an accord?"

Craw took his hand, unharmed by the fire it was comprised of. "We're both compromising here, you know."

"I know. I have to let you see and examine things sacred to my self and people. And you have to take orders from me, for a while, at least."

Craw smiled at this. "I thought I'd have to explain that to you." Their hands let go. "If either of us had lied to the other, it would have ruined the whole thing."

He grunted in affirmation. "It was when I was a child, that I learned it's only romanticists who expect more than there really is in something. I learned that such people are too weak to deal with the real world."

Craw turned away on his feet, trailing off in a halfhearted pacing pattern. "If I had never met Karas, I would agree with that, a hundred percent." He put his top teeth over his lower lip. "I said basically that same thing to her once, and she corrected me. With an argument that made real sense."

Flame King understood his mood, then suddenly didn't. He was intrigued. "What is that argument?"

"That romanticists..."

* * *

Flame Princess' feet were inside holes in the glass. She was almost vertically hanging from it, and her heated hand was digging the next notch she needed. She had to heat up her hand, and also use every movement fiber in her weakened body to stay in place as well as push into the glass.

Her eyes were wet from agony. She wanted to just let go, let the pain end, and just sit in the bottom of her cell.

Her movement fibers gave out involuntarily, and she fell back into the floor. Then the heat of her hand redistributed through her being. The withdrawal from her altered state made her cry out loud with a raised, yet sobbing voice from the agony. She curled up into a ball laying on her side, wrapping her arms around her knees.

A piece of coal fell on the upward side of her face.

The pain died down to a bearable level, and she took the piece of coal off her head and in hand. She looked at it, not eating it. Anger welled up again in her mind. Throughout her incarceration, she had bouts of uncontrolled rage at her situation; at those responsible. In this angry mindset, she imagined doing things to these people, things that she'd never before imagined herself doing.

Then more time passed, in this unchanging, static cell. She calmed, shut her eyes, and breathed normally again.

Flame Princess sat up, the piece of coal still in hand. Her touch heated it, causing it to temper at those spots. She put it in her mouth, and swallowed it whole. She felt it burn up inside her, filling her with energy. Her nostrils exhaled a lot of uncomfortable smoke. Coal was a cheap food, abundant in the Fire Kingdom but disliked by most; perfect for feeding prisoners. Yet in spite of this image as a disgusting last resort, it was rich with energy.

She'd actually warmed up to the repulsively pollutant sediment. The energy it gave her reminded her of what it was like to be in the open and free. When she could burn more, and more, and more yet. Where if she was angry she could let loose and become a giant flame.

The coal was not enough. She wanted to consume an entire mountain of it. Achieve an even greater, and greater yet sensation of intaking energy.

Flame Princess looked up the shaft. She had to get out. Had to fix everything, had to make change from this; this state of simply breathing and existing. She had to live. That need was a part of her, and only death could separate it.

* * *

The sun had set, and Finn was inside the pressure cannon. Above him was a mechanism that would unfurl into a glider. Strapped around his shoulder was a diagonal belt with six impact bombs strapped to it. Before heading out to the cannon, he visited the armory at the camp and asked for some.

"You ready?" Somebody's voice muffled through the stone barrel.

Finn banged on it twice in reply.

He got no reply. And everything remained still; remained quiet. It was many agonizingly tense seconds.

And then he was violently propelled out of the barrel, shot into the night sky with a force and velocity that made his blood heavy.

The glider unfolded in the dark and peaceful sky, locking into place and keeping him airborne. The North Star was lit against the black and bleak horizon. And the land below was a blend of blackened rock and glowing bodies of lava. Cast over by moving clouds of smoke. He saw a concentration of orange glowing dots heading to a flatland area northeast of the North Star. It was Cinnamon Bun and the cavalry, heading there to cause the diversion.

* * *

By the power of science, and the drive of a child hoping to benefit from it, Rattleballs was given new life.

* * *

Jake came out of his hovel. He'd hoped for a few more days of the normal life he had loved, which seemed to be slipping away.

And he got them. Now it was time to go into kicking brass mode.

* * *

"Romanticists..." Craw trailed off, looking off to the side of the red throne hall. "She said, that they were the people who didn't accept the world, because they had standards which did not allow them to accept such a mess; such a clumsy, ineffective and nearsighted machination that men like us call the 'real world.'

"Is makes all the sense in the world, when you think about it." He continued. "Romanticists, they're not weak. In reality, they are the strongest people in the world."


	15. The Ruthless, Valiant and Cunning

_People are so... so... frustrating!_

 _Such an outburst is rare for me._

 _The story goes, that I created order in a land where there previously was none. I gave protection to those who would be helpless by themselves. I took over a town, then turned it to a place where everybody could live their lives as they chose under the protection of my robots and my genius. The history of the bygone humans would label me something called a 'King' for my actions. But I care little for the bygone, as I have limited means of studying it._

 _My people do so little with this freedom I give them! There's no fire, no ambition in them. All they do is sustain themselves and exist. And when I try to push them into doing something unexpected; something I would like, they just level praise at me, their ruler and savior._

 _It's so frustrating!_

…

 _Several hundred years have passed since I made that note to myself. I return to it, because something new has come up. One of my subjects is something that shows all the promise I tried and failed to create in my original kingdom._

 _He is a human, and it's worth noting that humans were mostly responsible for the world's destruction. They are dangerous, and so I never made an attempt to repopulate them. That given, I have never denied their remnant populations their right to life._

 _This human shows all the passion and ambition I wanted to create in my kingdom. If I were young, and innocent like him, and not old, and wise like I am, I have no doubt I would have fallen passionately in love with this boy._

 _I have given him special attention, and named him the Hero of Ooo. He has a strong willpower, and I'm going to keep him close and observe him. He is by far the most interesting of my subjects. He does things I would never have expected or anticipated. He puts a fire inside me._

 _I now hold a newly kindled interest in the Humans, and hope I have the good fortune to meet more specimens in the future._

-Bonnibel Bubblegum

* * *

Princess Bubblegum's rocket was good for multiple uses, and she'd used it to make multiple leaps over vast distances, far away from her conquered kingdom and the empire that was searching for her.

"Karas Brimstone." She said to herself, flavoring the name. She said it to herself again. "I greatly underestimated you..."

Bubblegum was surrounded by ice inside a vast, brightly lit cavern. The place was well-supplied with warm clothing, sugar sustenance, and petroleum to run its power generator. It was an emergency bunker which she'd had constructed a long time ago. Its location was undisclosed to anybody. The robots who built it had their memories wiped after they were finished. And there was no paper trail leading to it; she had memorized its precise longitude and latitude, and that was the only way anybody could find it.

Two large turbines in a rock alcove far off from the main cavern served as the power generators. Electric wiring was fastened to the walls and ceiling all over, some going up to an elevated ice platform above. The place was a bunker, and a laboratory, with entire separate areas of the open floor dedicated to different forms of research equipment. A large, multisectioned computer mainframe occupied another area. It was air-cooled, with powerful suction and blowout fans adding to the echoing hum already produced by the turbines

She was pacing on the open, carpeted ice floor of the cavern. Pacing helped her think. The cold conditions had forced her to dress warmly; an oversized fur cloak that dragged slightly on the floor. Her head was wrapped by a furry hat that concealed the bottom ring of her crown, but left its rising horn to stick out.

A noise. It was her computer desk connected to the far-off mainframe, which was logged onto an encrypted messaging service. It had announced that she'd gotten something new. She held her cloak shut tight, out of fear it would open and let cold air inside as she walked up to the computer and sat at it. She was alone, but nonetheless her smile was private; Karas Brimstone was smarter than anticipated, but she failed to deal with Bubblegum's satellite network. She doubted any Nugondo even knew about them.

The message was from Peppermint Butler. It read: _Finn the Human has received his instructions to enter the Fire Kingdom as of several days ago._

 _The Brimstone Empire has completed their seaport on this side of the ocean, enough to begin operations. The airfield was not near as prioritized, and remains only partially complete._

 _I have spoken with every ruler in the northern and central regions of Ooo. Many wished to speak with you in person, but they are nonetheless apprehensive about the foreign empire, and will fight if it comes to that, albeit each on their own. If your Highness comes out of hiding I'm certain your goal of creating a coalition of all nations of Ooo can be achieved._

 _Your people are not being exploited or abused. They dislike living under foreign rule, and dislike even more the... redecoration done on your kingdom, but the person in charge of the show there is that horse who spoke to you at the audience. He's a good enough individual, as horses go. As long as someone new is not appointed, there is no risk of your people being victims of forced labor or heavily biased governance. It is a small blessing, but one which I believe your Highness would appreciate knowing._

She did appreciate knowing it. The state of her people had been a constant source of worry since her kingdom had been taken over.

 _I feel I've lingered too long at this contact point. As ordered, I will destroy it and use a different point for my next report to you, which my lady can expect in about two weeks._

 _-Over and out._

The message ended there. It was something to consider, to be sure. Bubblegum's plan was to keep the Empire from finding the Floodgate, at any cost. Her plan to organize a massive coalition to fight them was also part of her plan.

But it wasn't enough. Stopping the Brimstone Empire would require more. She went over to a lab machine on the open floor. She pressed a switch on it, and it opened a small hatch, presenting a tray. Atop the tray was a small, narrow cylinder made of a hard, glowing material.

She took the cylinder, letting the tray recede back into the machine's hatch. Then she took it over to another, much larger machine. This machine had an overhead gantry, outfitted with robotic arms equipped with a wide variety of tools, with a flat metal floor beneath the setup. The machine was designed to manufacture prototype inventions from scratch, with the only necessary input being the design data and requisite materials. Pressing a single, picked button on the controls made one of the robotic arms pick up an intricately-built mechanism from the construction floor and set it on a lower platform within her reach.

She walked up to this mechanism, and placed the glowing cylinder into a slot it fit into, and proceeded to release a switch on the mechanism itself. It pressed down on the top side of the cylinder, with a solid base on the bottom end. She then blew on the cylinder, causing it to shrink its volume shorter under the pressure of the mechanism. It changed color to red, then green, then blue then black as it shrank to the point of being shorter than it was wide; more a coin than a cylinder.

She turned another switch, engaging the mechanism. And then, slowly, the ebon black, reduced cylinder began to grow taller again, pushing against the machine's force resisting it.

As a result, through elaborate clockwork, the entire mechanism churned to life. All of its energy came from the crushed cylinder trying to return to its original volume, an effort which expended tremendous amounts of energy latent within its material. This energy was adapted through mechanical transmission, converting it to a less sluggish, then less slow, then faster form until it reached the now spinning output ports of the machine, onto which other mechanisms requiring energy could be connected.

These cylinders, which held vast amounts of energy to the point of almost never requiring replacement, powered the clockwork mechanisms, or power generators of nearly every machine Princess Bubblegum had built since developing the technology long ago. The energy cylinders were all the same size, but for larger machines she simply had them use more of them.

She locked the machine, stopping its cycling and causing the cylinder to cease expanding, and then picked it up. "You're smart, Brimstone. I'll admit that much." She said to herself, carrying the machine over to a different part of the cavern.

"But you cannot compare to true genius..." Princess Bubblegum pulled the tarp off a massive object on the open floor. It was a semi-humanoid robot, much larger than her but not near as big as the Gumball Guardians. Yet it followed the same aesthetic, looking vaguely like a gumball dispenser. "Nothing ever will." The robot had an open hatch at its back, into which she inserted the machine. Its output connected to a receiving port inside the box, and she turned the machine on and closed it. It welded itself shut, sealing forever.

She held her cloak shut and warm as she walked back around to the front of the robot. It came to life, slowly beginning to move and stand, coming out of its curled up position to stand tall. It looked down at her, not saying or doing anything.

"Gumball Hunter." She said to it. "I welcome you to conscious existence."

Its mechanized voice was pure bass, with metallic echo spicing its booming cords. "I embrace existence, Creator."

She nodded at this. "Firstly you will address me as Princess, not Creator. They're both true and I prefer the former. Second, run a full diagnostic on all of your programming and functions."

"Directive confirmed- Directive confirmed." It said in answer to both directives. A few seconds. "All systems green."

"You've been equipped with a DNA tracking system. It is with this that you will identify your target." She took out a vial containing a torn off, bloodstained piece of a pink dress. It was from the dress she was wearing when the Candy Kingdom was invaded. The robot accepted the vial between two narrow claws on on the end of a finger of one of its thick, intricately built arms. It dumped the bloodstained piece of cloth into an intake slot on its body.

"Do you have your target?" She asked.

"DNA sample scanned. Target acquired." The Gumball Hunter affirmed.

She nodded, and had to force herself to say the next words. "Your directive is to terminate the target. End his life by whatever means necessary. Have I made myself clear?"

The robot was looking her in the eye. Having only just been born into the world, it was immediately given an order to kill. With this, it had but one thing to say, "directive confirmed, Princess."

* * *

Gates Van Duke stood alone on the newly completed seaport. It was late at night. The seaport was concrete, shaped by metal containment casing that covered all the sides. It was lighted by large fixtures mounted on the crane, and along the edge of the dock's entire perimeter with the water. They were powered by a small generator in a shed out of the way.

In front of him was a huge, metallic sea vessel. Its two smokestacks had calmed, relenting in their release of black emission. Crewmen and dockworkers were busily carrying out the procedure of mooring a sizable ship. Lowering a heavy metal ramp from the ship's deck to the dock, which, even while managed by cables and pulleys, set on the freshly cured concrete with a resounding clang. Thick ropes were fastened to metal posts on the pier, which had been placed before the concrete was poured to leave only their heads at the surface.

Gates took a chunk of his valuable time to come here, at the pier, to receive somebody whom a radio transmission told him in advance would be on this ship.

As the passengers disembarked from the ramp, they occupied Gates' field of sight as he stood waiting for the person he was expecting.

He finally came into view: a wide, bulky frame, and a mammalian head with an almost square-oriented snout. He had no hair or fur to speak of, but rather toughened skin. He wore practical work clothes that had yet to be dirtied, and a wide sun hat with a rising rim. His name was Esogg Pennyvice, and he was one of the wealthiest people in the entire Continent of Nugondowan. He was a self-made man, whose ambition took him from being a mining grunt to becoming the biggest ore magnate on the continent.

Gates turned facing as he approached, and began walking in sync with him. He did the same.

Esogg didn't say anything as they walked together. He and Gates knew each other, and they knew each other well enough to know that speaking wasn't necessary for either of them. So if neither of them wanted to, then neither of them would.

Gates broke the silence. "How are things? Back home, I mean."

"How do you mean?" His voice was heavy, and also impassioned, as though he had to give every word spoken at least a little fire.

"I mean, are the events happening here in Ooo seen as a war, or simply colonization? How many people are aware of it?" He turned his horse head toward him in inquiry as they headed to the exit of the dock. The crane turned, carrying a steel container off the ship that passed well over their heads.

"Well..." Esogg trailed off, thinking about the questions. "Getting the first thing out of the way, there's no opposition to this among the public, whatever the history books end up calling it. News of this new continent has spread like wildfire. Everybody knows about it. And knowledge of its existence has come with an inseparable sidenote that this... Land of Ooo, is rich with resources." He turned to Gates. "Is this true?"

Gates nodded, and they both turned ahead, watching their forward path. "Yes."

"Mm!" He nodded at this. "Then I've made a good call, coming here ahead of everyone else."

He knew that by 'everyone else,' he meant his competition. "It's incredible, really." Gates continued. "Almost like a paradise, this land."

They reached the end of the seaport's concrete platform, walked down its ramp, and then along a wide trail in the woods leading to the Candy City. The trail was made by clearing away trees and stumps. The thick woodland tried to crowd over the fresh clearing. Several telegraph wires could be seen running above the trail, using the branches as support.

"I think I see what you mean." Esogg remarked, looking left and right, at the dirt of the trail, and the thick woodlands. "I've been all over back in Nugondowan, and never seen a forest what was this healthy."

"I took the liberty of having geological surveys done on the nearby hills and mountains."

"They find anything?"

Gates shook his head, and came as close to a grin as a horse was capable. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. If you start mining, in any of these places, you won't even have to dig for the first few weeks."

"What variety of mineral wealth?"

"A better question would be what stuff isn't there. The mountains up north have virtually enough iron to double the size of your shipping fleet."

"That wouldn't be practical, van Duke. I'd have hundreds more ships and no goods to ship with them. They'd just gather dust."

"I'm just illustrating, Pennyvice. The mountains just to the west of them, by the sea are projected to be rich with copper and tin."

"You ain't gotten to the difficult part of this yet, van Duke. Who owns the land? Who do I need to make a deal with to get my boys started on these mountains?"

Gates remained quiet for a moment as they walked the quiet and peaceful trail. Esogg waited patiently for a reply. Moonlight began beaming into the trail through the openings in the foliage above, having been unveiled by the clouds in the sky. Gates inhaled. "Well, we actually don't know who owns the land. We searched the rubble of the palace, and found no documentation of such. I had some of my intel people ask around, and this is strange, but the people here have no concept of property ownership. Insistent questioning just turned up the answer that their Princess, Bonnibel Bubblegum, owned everything."

Esogg was frowning with thought. "Was this Princess some sort of dictator? This place is more messed up than I assumed, if it makes glob-mathed dictators out of young girls."

Gates waggled his head in answer of 'no.' "Not in the sense of what we think from hearing the word 'dictator.' These people lead happy lives, and love their pink ruler from the bottom of their hearts."

His scrunched, thinking face made its way up to look at Gates. "How's a man make something of himself if he can't own anything?"

"I've thought of that myself..." Gates gave their walk a bit more peaceful silence before continuing. He had been extremely busy the past weeks, and a leisurely walk through the woods with an old friend was a welcome bit of recreation. "This land is different, Pennyvice. So different on so many levels. It's especially the people who are different."

"Example." Esogg asked.

"Well for example, you can wander to an area and meet a young woman or girl, and chances are she's a princess."

"Princess of what?"

"You name it. Wildberries, Lumpy Space, hot dogs."

"A Hot Dog Princess." Esogg said incredulously.

"Mm," Gates affirmed. "There's a Hot Dog Princess, and it's neither a prank nor a ruse. She has her own patch of territory, and a retinue of knights."

The trail was the same throughout; the same kind of trees, same freshly cleared ground, as well as consistent moonlight from a consistent night sky.

"Well..." Esogg trailed off, bringing a shift to their conversation. "Nobody but you and some of my people know I'm here. Where do I go to get started on leasing land?"

"There's a temporary government office in the Candy City. We're not even close to re-composing the records lost when the palace was destroyed, if they even existed, but you should be able to learn who owns what and what hasn't any owners."

"I take it nobody has a claim on the mountains?"

"That's all unowned. You can buy it from the City Administration for wholesale price..." As Gates spoke, his voice trailed off and became detached."

"What's on your mind, Gates?"

He sighed, and looked over at the bulky man. "Esogg, have you ever thought of having children?"

Pennyvice coughed. "Gates, what the math?"

"I mean..!" He stopped the rising pace of the conversation. "Has the idea ever crossed your mind?"

"Yes, it did, Gates. I thought of it one time, and decided 'no'. I was put on this planet for one reason, and one reason only. Contributing to the gene pool ain't that reason."

"But... don't you want an heir? Somebody to leave your fortune and business empire to?"

Esogg remained calm toward the inquiry. "When I'm gone, it's me who'll decide to who and where my money goes. As for who runs my company, it'll be somebody handpicked by me, who I can trust won't mess things up. Having a kid will get in the way of that freedom, and so it ain't happenin'."

Gates chuckled a bit. He reached into a bag hanging at his side, and took out a pipe, bringing it up to his mouth. "Brimstone said essentially the same thing when I asked her. Said she'd rather find a way to live forever, and not have to think about it." He began lighting it, holding it in his horse mouth as he used both his upper hooves to handle the match.

"The Empress talks sense. Always has." Esogg remarked. They reached the peak of a hill in the road, and the candy city became visible in the distance. Its lights beamed up out of the high walls, sticking into the sky. The only visible building within the towering, steel-plated walls was the vast metal spire being constructed in the site where once lay the candy palace. The scaffolding on its upper levels had receded, and it was well on its way to completion.

"You guys build one of those in every conquered city. Is there some special purpose?"

"I like to think all psychological purposes are special. It projects the Empire's presence over the citizenry. If you want to capture people's hearts, you must first capture their attention."

Esogg nodded at this. "You've always been the undisputed master of assimilating newly conquered territory. Long-term stability and whatnot."

Gates ground on his pipe a bit with his flat, herbivore teeth. "That's why I'm here, and not some other egghead. It was suggested once that my post be renamed to Minister of Propaganda and Public Relations. They felt that it was a more appropriate label for what I do. I of course turned the suggestion down."

"What for?"

"Because the title of Imperial Strategist is better for administrating propaganda and handling public relations, of course." He advanced down the hill of the road. Esogg followed in turn. "We've a lot of work to do. It's time to show this land colonization like none it has ever witnessed."

* * *

Jake the Dog was paid a visit by Marceline at the time he was laying low. During this visit, she described to him the state of the Candy Kingdom.

The occupiers were transforming the place. The Candy palace was being rebuilt as a huge metallic spire, littered with giant cogs and pipework. The pretty, brightly colored walls were being augmented by steel plating that made the walls stronger, but robbed the city of its lighthearted aesthetic.

The nearby forests had paths cut through them to clear the way for new roads. The seaport had been completed, and they were unloading heavy mining equipment from each new ship that docked. The seaport was also being expanded with imported materials, to allow it to accommodate more ships at once.

Marceline had flown over the ocean, following the smoggy smell of the ships' trail to the Spine, where she found an enormous hole had been drilled through one of the mountainous plates. The ships were using this hole to cross to Ooo's side of the ocean.

After telling this story to Jake, she took her leave, saying there were a lot of things on her mind and to-do list.

When Jake came out of his hovel, he went to the nearby settlement, walked right into the local pub, and asked up front as to how somebody gets everybody's attention in this town.

To which the bartender replied: "We do it in the usual manner in these parts."

Jake nodded at this, left a tip, and then headed for the town center. He climbed to the top of the bell tower, and morphed himself into a giant megaphone:

"Attention, everybody!"

He got everybody's attention, so he continued. "There's something what needs to be shown to you all. And I intend to show it. Come one, and come all, to Jake's Super-Awesome Field Trip of Revelation, one week from now, setting off from this very town."

He let it sink in. All the pedestrians on the street, every single one, was paused and watching. "Spread the word! Y'all will see things like none you've ever believed, and come back a changed person ahead of his time! This is an opportunity open to everyone."

Jake repeated the announcement several times, and then climbed down. He would show everyone, firsthand, what the Brimstone Empire was and what it was doing. If Marceline's story was true, he wouldn't need to do any convincing.

Everybody would rally together.

* * *

Tonight, was truly an exceptional night. Thought Finn the Human, as he glode through the warm, smokey night skies of the Fire Kingdom. The sun had set, and he was invisible to those who roamed below.

Cinnamon Bun had left the job of rescuing Flame Princess to him. This made him feel both surprised, and pressured. Surprised, because Cinnamon Bun really trusted him, even given their history. And pressured, for the exact same reason. It was clear that CB was going out on a limb to trust him, and so he didn't want to be a let-down. It was against his nature; to let anything drop.

He took a deep breath. In spite of gliding through the clear sky, it was as stuffy as ever in his fireproof suit.

But his newest line of thought, the one that occupied his attention every single second, was the contemplation; the idea. That the land beneath him, and the towering fortress among a range of fellow mountains, was all Flame Princess' kingdom. Her kingdom. The words run through his head created a sensation pressed into his zone of familiarity.

And yet, in spite of this, she was imprisoned against her will, within this kingdom he regarded as hers.

These thoughts combined with the situation that he was gliding through the air, in isolation, in privacy, in a place of transition in which he could withdraw into his most sacred place, defended from self-criticism by the barrier that he was not neglecting his mission. This was a part in which he had to wait.

The glider tipped downward, at his bidding. It sped up, losing altitude but gaining speed. He would be atop the North Star. The top of the fortress was his entry, and the structure below, his dungeon.

* * *

Craw felt as he did in the past wars on Nugondowan. He was in the Fire Kingdom Royal Army encampment, rendering his agreement with Flame King to help him bring stability to the Fire Kingdom. His first task in this role was to help the Royal Army deal with Cinnamon Bun's rebels.

The situation was a complete retread of things he did in the past back at Nugondowan, and could not possibly feel more mundane and boring. However he told himself it would save a lot of trouble. If Flame King kept his word, then the Brimstone Empire wouldn't have to fight this kingdom. Seeing the Fire Kingdom's terrain conditions, soldiers, and weaponry firsthand, he was more than ready to accept a peaceful resolution, and knew that Karas would okay it.

Tonight... was truly a mundane night. He thought as he found the commander's tent and walked straight into it, not asking for permission from the guards posted right outside it. Within, he found an oval of officers gathered around a slab of rock held up on four tall rocks, with a map of the entire southern half of the kingdom carved onto it.

Everybody looked at him as he entered. They didn't say anything.

So he spoke, surveying them: "Introductions, then. I'm Craw, the Nugondo Human, and I'm here to clean up all your problems." He clapped his hands as he walked up to the table, everybody's eyes following him in silence. "Don't mind me gents, continue with what you were talking of." He took a spot.

One of them spat on the ground.

"You're the beorc-ball who killed Lord Belchley." One of them exclaimed out loud.

"And sent his whole army packing for the hills." Craw added. "You should be happy I'm on your side now."

"You also stormed the capitol and harassed the King." Another sniped.

"Oh!" Craw exclaimed. "I'm on the couch? I come in here with the means and intent to fix your mess, and you put me on the glob-mathed couch?" He spread his arms, "well, I have some couch talk for you upstanding gentleman of my own to spew."

"We don't need the help of a brute-"

Craw had a sword out, and slammed it down on the table. The blow split it in half and released a booming crackle. In the next seconds, he sheathed his sword, and then dodged and grabbed the thrusted spears of the pair of guards who came into the tent from outside. He gripped the long weapon and disarmed the soldier carrying it with a powerful wrest. He planted a foot into the other with an extended kick, and then buried his elbow into the one he disarmed. They both fell to the ground, incapacitated.

The officers had all drawn their swords. Craw smucked one of them in the face with the butt if his acquired spear, connecting with the weapon's superior reach and causing him to fumble backward. The officer right next to Craw came down with a decisive downward sword slash, which Craw blocked with the quick motion of withdrawing the spear a bit. The downward slash was stopped, and Craw gripped the spear with both hands and leveraged the blade further up and out of the way, this parry was followed by another rapid kick which sent the officer flying into the others in that row, knocking them over.

Those still on their feet surrounded him. Craw readied his pilfered spear in a defensive stance, eyeing his surroundings, watching the progress of each soldier's advance. More soldiers came into the large tent, having heard the commotion.

"Everyone, stop!"

They halted. The voice came from the officer at the head of the table. His armor marked him as the highest rank among them. "That's enough. Lower your weapons."

"General, he's a hostile." Hissed another officer, not lowering his sword.

The General shook his head. "We attacked him first."

"What!"

"We attacked first!" The General repeated. Looking at the unconscious guards. "He put his sword away after vandalizing our table. It was our people who began fighting. Proper protocol would have been arrest, not attack on sight."

The angry officer's head was still flaming rapidly from anger. "But he's an outsider! Scum! We should kill him on general principle!"

"Be quiet!" The General looked at Craw. "I apologize on behalf of my men, Craw the Nugondo Human. Our bloodthirst was inappropriate and unbecoming." The fire elementals lowered their weapons.

Craw relaxed his guard in turn. "If that be the case, I apologize for wrecking your table."

The General nodded at this, as the rest of the elementals went back to normal, filing out of the tent and carrying the halves of the broken map table outside. "Apology accepted. If your assistance can end this civil war a day sooner, then I welcome it."

"It's given." Craw said, acting as though nothing had happened. "I simply need an understanding of your situation."

"Of course, I'll brief you in my own tent." He walked around, heading toward Craw and the tent entrance.

The still startled officers let them both leave, looking on speechlessly.

They were outdoors, walking through the camp when Craw asked, "so what's your name, General?"

"I'm Flint."

"You're the commander of this outfit?"

"Yes."

"What's your plan to deal with the rebels?"

They reached Flint's tent, and entered inside. Flint went to a table in the back, picking up a stone-carved letter from a stack left there and reading it. "You get straight to business, don't you?"

Craw just shrugged, standing in the middle of the tent floor with his arms crossed.

"Right then..." He set the tablet down. "The rebels are just Cinnamon Bun and a bunch of other soldiers who are also pissed off about my sister's disappearance. I'd have joined them myself, if not for their claim that Father is responsible for her disappearance being completely groundless; they have no evidence, and our kingdom needs a ruler now more than ever."

"So... you're the flame frilly's brother?"

"Yes." He nodded.

"And... you have no idea what happened to her?"

He looked him in the eye. "No, I don't. Nobody does."

"If these rebels found the flame frilly, would you go heel-face turn and join her side?"

Flint shook his head. "That's a moot question. If she came back then this rebellion would be over, and Father would have no choice but to step down."

The conversation was getting political. And politics bored Craw. "So you must be having problems with the rebels; some kind of snag, yes?"

"We recently deployed a heavy armor division in an area thought to be near their base. They were attacked, and every one of our tanks was ruined. Our force was routed. They say it was all because of a single man; a foreigner in a fireproof suit, with one arm and a sword of grass."

Finn... Craw realized. He licked his lips. "Oh, this just got juicy..."

"I think it may be Finn the Human, a well-known adventurer. It would make sense, as he's quite loyal to my sister."

"Yes..." Craw was going off into his own thoughts. "It is quite... comical..."

 _Are you ready, Finn? We'll see how far you've come since then._

* * *

"Raise the alarm!"

These words slammed Finn like a giant bell to his ears, even after his ears were literally shattered by an explosion. He had been caught, they were going to alert the rest, and soon the North Star's entire garrison would be on him.

He had landed on the broad terraces at the top of the fortress, and made his way several floors down, then he dispatched a guard he needed out of the way, by hitting him hard in his neck area with a hand-to-hand blow.

And then the guard dropped an impact bomb on the hard stone floor.

The explosion rang through the building, and sent Finn flying along the hall. He slammed into the wall, landing on the floor. He was just regaining his senses when he heard the call to raise the alarm.

At this point, he had two options, which he considered as he got back on his feet.

Opion A, and the one that sounded most sensible in his mind, was to head back to the roof and flee on the glider. There would be no point getting killed and failing his mission as well.

Option B, Continue the mission to rescue Flame Princess, accepting all the risk and liability such an attempt entailed...

The grass blade came poking out of his suit glove. He'd come to this kingdom to test himself, and this was an opportunity. He had always had courage, but now he had something at his disposal that was far more formidable. Something that, as a human he was inevitably capable of:

Cunning.

There was a window of time. Finn ran along the halls of the fortress. It was the upper floors of the main structure, near to the dome and adornments on the top of the structure.

He reached a terrace, far below was the expanse of fortifications surrounding the erect stone plateau, upon which sat the main structure. The people below were far too distant to see him.

He took an impact bomb from his baldric of them. Then he tossed it, aimlessly, down unto the compound below. With his one arm, he tossed the rest, letting them drop below with no target in mind.

He used them all, and ran back into the structure, hearing the random crackle of explosions below; a diversion. The garrison only had their hearing to go by, and a bomb going off in the upper floors was just as credible to the presence of an intruder as similar bombs going off in the lower compound. It would divert them from the one location he really was, or at least spread them thin.

* * *

A beautiful night, of chivalry and battle, and planning, action and triumph.

Cinnamon Bun was charging at full pelt, his head low. He lowered it slightly more to dodge a flying javelin. Any other cavalry who crossed his path were cut down, he completely outmatched them. The enemy's more abundant infantry didn't stand a chance as the cavalry force following at his back trampled and charged through them.

This was his mission, go out and raise hell. He was a master of riding his fire wolf and fighting from atop it, and the cavalry in his force were all seasoned veterans. The patrol they'd caught in the open didn't stand a chance.

He slowed up, and trotted to a stop, then looked back, turning his wolf so he could look. His cavalry were running down the stragglers of the broken enemy unit. One of his guys rode up to him. "What's the word?" Cinnamon Bun said.

"We got routers heading west, east and southeast." He replied.

Cinnamon Bun turned his mount away. "Let them go. We can't divide our force and we can't divert."

"What do we do now?"

He raised his lance, indicating the direction farther north. "The Royal Army's main camp is only a few more miles north. That's our target." He spurred his wolf, and it went. The rest of his force followed as they re-converged their formation.

A magnificent night. He would hit them in their nest, and that would surely draw out the garrison of the North Star.

Ergo bettering the odds of Her Highness' rescue.

* * *

Rescue Flame Princess.

That was his mission as he came across a patrol moving rapidly through the corridors in their search for the intruder.

They found their intruder.

He came from in front, and attacked from behind, transferring there in a blurry instant. Four of them were hacked down before the rest even noticed what happened. His grass sword was as susceptible to fire as normal grass, but it was very green grass, and fire needed at least a second to truly burn anything. He remembered Jake showing him a trick from moving his fingers over a lighter flame.

And his sword passed through their flaming bodies in well under a second, coming out unburnt.

The rest noticed, turned, and raised their weapons to block his onslaught of slashes.

His blade went through their weapons, and hacked them apart just the same as those caught by surprise. A relentless flurry of agile slashes hacked them all down.

The patrol didn't stand a chance.

They were in pieces, degenerating into tiny flambos. Finn wasted no time, and continued heading to the dungeon. He was close, now, he thought as the pillar supports and arched ceiling of the corridor passed through his vision.

He reached a spiraling staircase, and went down it, walking naturally now, as though he belonged. If there was anyone guarding the prison cells, he wanted at least a little speaking time to get close.

He came to a hall, which curved slightly along its entire length and stretched beyond his vision. It wasn't hard to guess that it was fit like a ring to the cylindrical shape of the fortress.

Along the outer wall of the ring-oriented hall were indents, which were shaped like—well, he thought, they were shaped like the footholds he'd made to climb up Sky Mountain. Except these were bigger.

All the indents were at hip-level; they could almost be privies, but for their openness. They matched the description given to him in the briefing on what the holding cell entrances looked like.

He noticed evenly spaced troughs, filled with coal and lined along the inner wall of the circular hall. He figured that must be what they fed to their prisoners.

The guards would be on him soon, he had to find the cell with Flame Princess, fast.

He went by each indent. Within each was a perforated metallic hatch, which he opened and shouted down: "Princess, are you down there!"

There was no answer. He advanced along the cell hatches, shouting the same thing into each as he opened them.

Still no reply.

As he advanced quickly along, walking in an efficient spin motion between each to check his surroundings.

He opened the next cell hatch. "Princess! Are you down there?" The shaft curved diagonally as it descended, even if there was a fire elemental inside, he would not see the glow.

There was no answer, he let it drop shut and moved on.

"Yes! Yes I'm here!" She suddenly shouted from the cell he moved on from.

He quickly backtracked and reopened the cell hatch. "Thank glob I've found you, Princess! Don't worry."

"Who... who is this?"

"It's Finn," he replied. "I'm here to rescue you." He took a thin, rolled up chain from his baldric. It was more than long enough to drop into the cell. "Here, take this chain." He called down as it unrolled, falling down the shaft.

The chain was linked to his baldric, he didn't need to hold onto it with his hand. It became tight as she grabbed on and began climbing.

As she did this, he took out a thick capsule and opened it. Inside the capsule was an efficiently packed fireproof tarp. Which he proceeded to unfurl into a black expanse, easily wide enough to cover a person.

As she got to the top, he turned with the tarp in front of him, and spread it over her. "Princess, cover yourself in this. We need to move unseen.

She climbed out of the hole and into the tarp he held up between them. He adjusted it so it'd cover her completely, satisfied when the last spot of glow was concealed and the chamber became dark again. Finn uncoupled the chain from his baldric, and then turned to the elemental wrapped in the tarp. "Can you walk? See where you're going, I mean?"

She spoke after a pause. "No..."

Her voice was a bit different than what he remembered. But he dismissed it; she was simply weak from her imprisonment. "I'm going to carry you then. Do you mind?"

He saw her head shake under the tarp. "No... go right ahead."

Finn walked up to her, got down to a crouched position, and placed his left shoulder into her mid-body. "Lean over me." When she complied, he wrapped his arm around her midriff, and stood up with her balance point on top of his shoulder. She was surprisingly light. That, or he'd gotten stronger.

Wasting no time, he headed out the way he came, trotting in a brisk pace.

* * *

Cinnamon Bun's men stormed the encampment. Sleeping soldiers were rousted from their spots and explosions rang frequently from explosive stockpiles being hit.

It was chaos.

The chaos of his shock assault. The enemy had no preparation for this. Within this chaos, Sir Cinnamon Bun spotted an isle of calm. This isle of calm was as a person. He was not a fire elemental, and unlike the other occupants of the camp, he remained calm in the chaos of the sudden attack.

Cinnamon Bun focused his attention on this figure as it spotted, and then moved calmly toward him. As he got closer, he was surprised to see that this person looked like Finn, only his skin was dark, and his hair black as ebony.

Two rebel cavalry closed onto him in a pincer maneuver, and what happened next was a scene of horrifying clarity.

Both of the cavalrymen, and their steeds were sliced clean in two. Tents and rocks past the slicing cuts were severed as well, in the same way and same trajectory.

The dark human drew closer as the severed pieces of man and mount crashed onto the ground. Cinnamon Bun leveled his lance, and spurred his wolf to a charge.

As they closed the distance to each other, the human leaped at Cinnamon Bun, his swords widely spread.

Cinnamon Bun adjusted his lance trajectory.

They passed.

Cinnamon Bun's steed coasted down its speed and turned around just as the human landed on his own feet and turned in turn. His lance was brought up in a vertical blocking position, and two deep sword notches were dug into it. He leveled it back to an offensive stance.

"What do you fight for, pastry?" The dark human said. His voice distinguishable in the chaos of the ongoing battle.

Cinnamon Bun frowned at this; talking during a battle. He chose to answer nonetheless. "I fight for my princess. She is my lady, my liege, and the rightful ruler of this Kingdom."

"I see," the human replied. "Where I'm from, men like you are extinct."

"I shall take that as the utmost compliment."

"You fancy yourself her champion, then?"

"That is correct."

The human suddenly had a snide expression. "You don't fight like a champion. She ought to find herself a new one that's worth a jam."

"That's quite the claim you're making." He gripped his lance tighter, adjusting its position with a meticulous deliberation possible only to an expert.

"You haven't found her yet, have you? Completely failing to protect her." he spat on the ground. "Some champion."

Cinnamon Bun had nothing further to discuss. They were in a battle. "You must be talking big because you're afraid!" He had a look of indignation.

"I'm talking big..." There was another explosion from another explosive depot being hit as the raid carried on, Cinnamon Bun's cavalry riding all through the camp. The human's expression darkened. "Because you're about to die, Sir Cinnamon Bun. I would be disrespecting life itself if I talked insignificant."

A sudden, violent motion, and a straight line of blurred space shot from the dark human's sword and tapped onto Cinnamon Bun's pastry body. Before he could move, a sword followed up and ran through him. It went right through his flame shield and came out the other side of his bread-like form. The pain was clear and unbearable. His left arm went limp, and the slightest shift atop his wolf caused the solid blade to shift, cutting more of his composition and intensifying the pain.

It was only his warrior's discipline that took bits of his attention away from his crippling wound enough to see the dark human charging at him with speed and deliberation, easily evading the fireballs shot at him by the flame hound as he closed in for the kill.

With his remaining sense, he spurred his wolf to move. "Run!" He shouted to it. It obeyed, and leaped away from the dark human, making a huge bound with its enormous size. Upon the landing, the sword shifted violently, causing Cinnamon Bun to almost go completely limp from agony. With his right hand, which should have had his lance in it, he reached up to pull the sword out as his wolf fled the battlefield.

But the instant he touched it, the slight amount of pressure made the sword act as a lever against his innards. He hissed in pain as his hand withdrew from impulse. As the wolf continued to make leaps and bounds, it shifted around on its own.

He tightened his form on the flats of the blade to keep it still. This made it bearable, and he directed his mind to his cavalry unit, still probably carrying on the raid.

He reached into a bag on his baldric, and took out a flare gun. When he fired it into the sky, it engulfed the surrounding area with a distinctive green light. It was the signal to retreat. Which, even in his agony, he knew to be a wise decision. Their goal was to stir up chaos, and they'd succeeded in that.

* * *

When Finn reached the glider with Flame Princess, he found it had been reduced to a pile of soot with brittle, burnt wood poking out and forming vaguely into the shape of what had once been a planned and crafted construct.

He took a deep breath, getting his nerves together. A rapid thundering of footsteps, from the garrison who had been alerted to his presence, came closer, and any second now, they would be all over him.

* * *

Peppermint Butler was in the deepest of wilderness. The immediate area around him was a clearing illuminated by moonlight, surrounded on one side by a mountain face, and on all others by temperate woodland. He'd been standing here for about an hour, waiting patiently.

Since the invasion, he'd been acting as a liaison between Princess Bubblegum and all her allies and contacts. His secrecy, and ability to travel quickly and anonymously kept her whereabouts a perfectly guarded secret.

Until now. "You can come out. I've been expecting you." He called out loud.

A black cloaked figure, whose visible eyes glowed one green and one red, walked into the clearing.

"You move quickly, assassin." Peppermint Butler remarked. "My sources tell me you were in the Fire Kingdom only a few days ago."

Vang Hespiris did not move an inch after she stopped walking, about eight meters from him. "I am searching for-"

"Say no more, assassin. I know full well what your mission-"

"Where is she?" She cut him off.

He lifted an arrogant eyebrow. "What would you say... if I had nothing to say on the matter?"

There was a brief pause, a gust of wind in the cold, moonlit night. "If you withhold information from me, I will kill you."

"And if you threaten the Princess one more time in my presence, I will make your soul cease to exist." He said this in a tone just as dispassionate as if he were talking about the weather.

She said nothing, and did nothing for a short moment. "Your heartbeat is too quiet for me to hear. That, or you haven't one."

"I let you come to me so we could talk, assassin." Peppermint Butler explained. They stood facing each other. Crickets chirped and the wind gently rustled the trees. It was a calm night.

"Talk, then."

"I know that I am your only lead to finding your target."

"You are not my target. If you tell me what you know, I will let you live."

"If I feed you a story," the butler continued. "Thereby throwing you off and keeping the Princess safe from you, you will come back and follow me in secret. This will make maintaining discretion in the performance of my duties quite difficult, you understand?"

She said nothing.

"And so..." he continued. "I wish to make a humble suggestion: Quit the assassin's game, and find something else to do with your life."

Her head crooked slightly. "What..?"

"It's a pleasing prospect, no? You won't be compromising your integrity if you quit the business completely."

"This is your plan... talking me down..." She was looking downward.

"You've considered it in the past, am I correct?"

She looked him in the eye, her expression suddenly open; honest. "You've... an understanding. Yes, yes I have. But I always arrive at the same question. For which I cannot find a satisfying answer."

"And what is this question?"

"What would I do?"

"..Pardon?"

Her hands were lifted up from under her cloak, one mechanical and one dark and unnatural. "What would I do with myself?" She let her hands drop, like that was it, a question with no answer.

Peppermint Butler scratched the front of his face. "Get a hobby?" he stopped scratching. "I don't know what you would do with your life. That's not my business.

"What kind of hobby?" She was genuinely curious to hear his input.

"Well, you could..." He was twirling a hand, trying to think. "Start a band, perhaps."

"Start a band?"

"Yeah, like... write songs, call up any friends who are good with instruments, do jam sessions. That kind of thing."

She sobered. "I see... what you're describing is an individual who lives their life in boredom, going out of their way to indulge in any source of amusement they can find. I am free of that universe. In a way which they would never understand. I have a purpose."

"And that purpose is killing people under someone else's orders."

"Is that a problem?"

He shrugged. "I can't say I disapprove of the business..."

She was smirking. "I'm glad you understand. Now, where's Princess Bubblegum?"

"I dunno." He lied flatly.

Unable to hear his heartbeat, she had no way of knowing this. "Alright then. Nice talking to you."

"Good luck on your mission to knock off my boss." He called after ironically as she turned to leave.

* * *

As Cinnamon Bun fled on his wolf, his force of cavalry began slowly regrouping behind him. They all saw his flare, and knew what it meant.

But as he made distance from the encampment, he saw the Royal Army's own cavalry in the distance, mobilized and in a position to cut off his retreat.

Not far behind was an enemy counteroffensive, rapidly mobilized to retaliate against his surprise attack. He's anticipated such a reaction, thus the retreat signal.

But he didn't anticipate the enemy cavalry ahead, who seemed to know precisely in which direction he would flee.

With this, a dreaded thought made its way past the agony of his wound, and entered into his mind: if they knew where he would go in retreat, then that could only mean they knew where his camp was.

The blade impaled through his body made him feel faint, like he would collapse at any moment. The cavalry ahead had him trapped. And to top it off, his base was compromised. When he thought things couldn't get worse, he realized that he dropped his lance, having ignored it in his life-or-death desperation to get away.

The world slowed, he saw his wolf beneath him, bounding and running. Saw his flame shield, and how it made his body appear blue. He was aware of his own breath.

His dire situation. His doom. His abandoned lance.

He snapped into motion, as his sense of time regained its normal speed, he gripped the hilt of the sword impaled his body, and pulled it out with a determined roar of pain.

* * *

Finn lifted her onto his shoulder as the guards closed in on him. They rounded their corners and came across the circular rampart to surround him with a circle of pointed weapons.

He was standing on the ledge.

Before any of them could do anything, he stepped back, onto the sheer vertical drop below.

He fell, and then he fell faster, and then his fall to the ground became near instantaneous.

And when he hit the ground below, he was completely unharmed. He had slowed time for himself to the point of falling as though an insect: very rapidly, but with practically no impact force. Gravity had no time to increase the force of his impact to any dangerous level. It was very easy to extend this effect to Flame Princess, as she was a living organism. He had an easy time manipulating time's flow on living matter; much easier than with non-living.

He'd landed in the bailey between the walls and the central keep. There were few guards and they barely noticed him. It was nighttime, and he produced no glow, making him virtually invisible.

He moved to the gatehouse, which was located at the bottom of the spiraling landscape surrounding the towering keep. It was wide open, ready to drop at the first sign of an attack, but otherwise remained open, expecting deployed forces to return soon. Cinnamon Bun had been right; the diversion really did make them pull troops out of the fortress.

Finn the Human ran naturally through the open gateway with his rescuee, still invisible against the dark ground underneath a cloudy, smog-filled sky. The watchmen did not see him.

* * *

Cinnamon Bun struck down the commander of the cavalry unit sent to trap him. It was done in a single charging blow, using the sword he had been stabbed with. He felt weak, but the charge of his hound gave him plenty of striking force, and his instincts provided the necessary accuracy.

He'd charged the entrapping force head-on, and his own unit actually managed to break and rout the fresh force sent to pin them in. He thought he'd go down in a blaze of glory, and had no explanation as to how his battle-weary force landed a decisive maneuver so quickly against the enemy's well-trained, well-prepared unit.

Desperation. That was his explanation for it. People are capable of amazing feats when there's no escape from their doom. With their commander slain, the enemy cavalry were broken, and fleeing in terror from Cinnamon Bun's ferocious attack.

But the enemy's main force was still coming from behind. There was no time to waste as he and his men rode for their encampment. There was no alternative, they would have to abandon camp, grab what they could carry and flee further south. He only hoped Finn was successful in rescuing Flame Princess.

* * *

Finn made his way deep into the mountains, still carrying Flame Princess in his arm. He didn't hear her say anything. He doubted she even knew about the life-threatening fall he took to escape. To her it would come as just a bit of strong wind outside the tarp.

The narrow trail he followed took him to a small rock clearing with a cave. It was a safe-house, of sorts. One of Cinnamon Bun's officers instructed him to bring Flame Princess here once she was rescued. He had been forced to spend an entire hour next to the map, memorizing its location. His memorization was good enough that he was able to find it even on foot.

The reason he wasn't to bring her directly to the camp was as a safety measure. If, in the possible event the camp was compromised while Cinnamon Bun was away making the diversion, she might end up recaptured. That was one thing they could not risk. But here in the mountains, in a little known cave with close proximity to a dozen other little known caves, she would be safe.

He approached the cave, then he set her down in a prone position. "Lie still," he whispered. She complied.

With his arm free, he drew the grass blade and walked up to the cave. He had to be sure there weren't squatters, or enemy agents waiting for him in there. The night he just had, filled with hectic fear of being trapped by hordes of guards put him in an extremely paranoid mood. He didn't want to be caught with his sword arm occupied.

A figure did appear in the mouth of the cave, mere feet from Finn. It was blue; wearing a flame shield. When it materialized fully, Finn was surprised at who it was. "It's you!" He exclaimed, "That guy from Sky Mountain..." he trailed off, "I forgot your name."

"Rudy," said the ropy, frail man as he emerged from the mouth of the cave. "I take it you're the rescue guy?"

Finn took a moment to process this. "Wait a second, you're in on that?"

He nodded. "I've been working with the rebels for a while now."

"CB didn't mention you, not once." Finn was becoming suspicious of this man. It was just as likely he'd joined the other side, and just wanted him to lower his guard.

"What reason could he possibly have to bring me up?" Rudy asked rhetorically. "I've been doing covert work. The less people know about it, the better. Plus, I never brought you up with him; he has no way of knowing we know each other."

Finn relaxed.

"I'm a fire wizard." Rudy said, as though there was a question in the air that went unsaid. "When they attacked Flame Princess, it was all I could do to escape; my magic is useless against the indigenous people here.

"It's fine." Finn said. Rudy had been trapped in Sky mountain until recently. there was no way he had any connections by which to sell another group out.

"The mission was a success." Finn reported. "Flame Princess has been rescued from the North Star."

"Oh?" Rudy said. Suddenly elated. "So Mister Shortpants was able to make himself useful, eh?"

Finn ignored that remark. "FP, you can come out of the tarp. It's safe."

The tarp shifted and ruffled as she made her way out of it. Small parts of her flame body becoming visible as she untangled it off herself. She got it off and stood up. Then Finn felt his stomach sink.

It was not Flame Princess. The girl standing over the tarp was a different fire elemental. She was about the same age as Flame Princess, but she looked completely different.

"My, It appears you've rescued a different young lady with a skin condition."

"I... I don't..." Finn was shaking his head. "Who are you?"

She was shrinking down, nervous. "I'm... my name is Kindel."

He couldn't contain his frustration. "Okay." He snapped. "Why were you locked up in the North Star?"

"Is... is that where I was being held? I had no idea."

"Just answer the question!"

She shrank down, frightened.

Rudy stepped in. "Finn, we've got no cause to being rude to this girl. She didn't know anything about any of this."

"I'm happy you rescued me, even if I'm not..." She muttered.

"It's all quite alright, young lass. You don't have to explain yourself to Mister Shortpants here." Rudy took her hand, and calmly escorted her to the cave entrance. "There's a small magma pond in this cave. Certainly a refreshing change from eating coal, I'm certain."

Finn didn't follow them into the cave. He was facing away from it, processing what just happened. He'd thrown the tarp over her before even getting a good look and making sure it was Flame Princess. Rudy was right, it was his own mistake and he had no right to take it out on his rescuee. Though he was curious as to why she was imprisoned. He intended to ask her as soon as his frustration died down.

"Looks like I came here for nothing." Spoke an exaggeratedly casual voice.

Finn recognized the voice. He looked over and saw Craw, entering the rock clearing through the same entrance Finn took. "How..? How is it you're here?"

He spread his hands. "That's kinda the point, Finn. Show up where your enemy least expects." He let his hands drop. "I stuck a blade into Cinnamon Bun, then went to the North Star because, 'duh,' sure enough saw you leaving with something over your shoulder, and followed you here."

Finn reached into a back pouch on his suit and grabbed a piece of chalk, taking a step back. "Well as you can see, what I rescued is an ordinary fire elemental. There's no reason for you to stick around here."

"I have to respectfully disagree." Craw took several steps forward. "Cinnamon Bun is finished. He's pinned down, has nowhere to run- finished. You're a threat too, so I have to deal with you here and now before you become a serious problem, understand?"

"Come on!" Finn said relaxedly, stalling for time. He sat down, and began drawing on the ground right next to him, out of Craw's field of vision. "We're both humans, aren't we? You gotta do another human a solid."

He pinched the center of his eyebrows. "That's... the third dumbest thing I've ever heard. I'm going to kill you now." He drew a sword.

Finn finished drawing, and stood up. "What's the second?"

"'Craw, you're a worthless piece of gum under my boot,' " he quoted as he moved briskly up the stone incline toward Finn.

Finn stepped back, and tossed a balloon filled with bug milk onto his drawing, which was of a happy face. The balloon splattered on it. Craw was only a few paces away. Finn chanted: " _Maloso vobiscum et cum spiritum!_ "

The portal opened right underneath Craw. He fell into it, but grabbed onto the edge outside the portal, gripping it with his fingers. Finn got behind a large rock for cover, peeking over it.

Craw tried to climb out of the portal that was sucking him in. He got his elbows and chest over the edge. But a large, demonic hand with long, jagged fingers was pulling him down, one of its fingers going over his shoulder. "You... son of a..." He growled.

The hand was too strong, it pulled him away from the edge, then into the portal.

Finn came out of cover and watched as the portal wore off, shrinking and closing. When it closed completely, the area returned to its usual warm, fiery lighting.

Rudy came out of the cave. "Finn! What the math happened out here?"

Finn could hear his own heartbeat. His plan had actually worked. "Nothing," he answered. "Nothing at all." As he headed into the cave, he looked back at the site where the portal was. He had a light, satisfied smile. "This round... goes to me."


	16. Unjustified Impositions

Deep within a mountain range, on the continent of Nugondowan, there lay an artificially formed island of level ground in the otherwise sheer terrain. A single, narrow road was the only way to reach this place by land.

On this level ground, there was a workshop. Its architecture and scale were similar to a warehouse. Added to the main building were a pair of large silos of indiscernible purpose, as well as an expansive open-ended aerodrome built over the roof. A metal anemometer and cloth wind sock featured prominently on its edge.

A small, three-wheeled car made its way up the trail leading to this isolated building. It slowed as it reached the clearing, parking at a well broken-in spot next to another, more robust car close to the people door and out of the way of the massive main doors of the building.

A woman exited from the car. She was dressed in white, satin robes that looked like a mix between pajamas and formal clergy wear. Her species was mammalian, descended from a breed of mice who'd lost their fur and developed a repertoire of facial expressions, as well as speech in addition to advanced brains. Her frail, skinny hands were kept inside long opposite sleeves of her robes when they were not used.

She walked naturally, routinely to the people door of the building, removing a hand from the concealment of her opposite arm's sleeve in order to insert a key into the door's lock.

The interior of the expansive building was a single, open floor that was filled and crowded with machinery, scrap parts and the odd lighter than air object, chained down to keep from floating to the ceiling. There were numerous work benches and toolboxes along the wall. An attempt was made to sort all of the machinery into rows, allowing for access to all of them. Half the lights hanging from the ceiling were alight, compounded by the fresh morning daylight beaming in through large windows above.

The white-robed woman walked along the work benches, careful not to touch or glaze her white robe on anything, as everything was dust-ridden at best. The floor had quite a lot of tools and spare parts that were just left there.

Another workbench, within a cubby outside the wall came into view. Here, she saw another person, their head rested on their arms on the bench, sleeping. She stopped to look.

A skinny, female Earth Elemental of below-average height. She wore a grease-stained, dark green jumpsuit, with raven-black crystal forming a head of short, even hair that adorned around a young, light-brown stone face. Earth Elementals were originally created with the cosmetic feature of resembling humans, and this trait carried through the generations.

The Elemental's face was slack, drooling slightly, having fallen asleep working. A headband equipped with a light and a magnifying scope remained on her head.

The tall, white-robed mouse person couldn't resist smirking at the cute sight of the earth girl's slack, sleeping young face, one she knew to have boundless energy when awake. She removed a hand from her sleeve to place it on her shoulder, shifting her a bit. "Good morning Boss," she said softly. The young elemental was, in fact her employer, and the owner of the workshop.

Her jaw pulled itself the short distance to its proper spot as she swallowed and lifted her head off her arms. "Morning, Tzibarc," she replied flatly as she lifted her head all the way, looking at the white-robed woman with a dazed, half-asleep expression. "You finally came in today."

"And you worked all night yet again, Cole." Tzibarc said playfully as she patted the charcoal-black crystal which her head of hair was comprised of. She then looked over to an internal structure at the end of the walkway, built in the far corner of the building. "I received a few letters late last night; offers I think you'd be interested in. Meet me in my office when you're ready, and we'll talk them over, yes?" She walked in that direction.

Cole snapped awake and got up off her bench stool, following Tzibarc to the offices. As she did so she stretched, fighting the stiffness from the irregular position of her sleep. "You left early yesterday, too. I never asked why."

"Because I had a date." Tzibarc replied naturally.

Tzibarc was the manager of the workshop, originally hired to talk to clients and negotiate contracts. Then she ended up doing finances, inventory, and every other administrative task that Cole preferred working in the shop over handling. She was great at all of these things, able do do them all in an exceptionally short timespan, and her salary was raised accordingly. Cole would need to hire three other, extremely capable people to do the job Tzibarc did by herself.

"You're starting to make history Cole," Tzibarc said as she opened the door to the office.

"You're talking about..." she took a moment to deduce what she was talking about. "The hole I drilled, through the Spine almost a year ago."

Tzibarc turned the lights on in the well-furnished room. "It's brought the distant Land of Ooo in reach; a new, unclaimed world with untold riches. You were only paid ten thousand plates for that job. And yet other people are going to make billions thanks to your accomplishment. Even the Empress has given a lot of attention to the new land."

"Ten thousand was enough to start my shop. I'm happy with what I have; an endless stream of free art."

Tzibarc walked to the other end of the room to a bookshelf. She picked and chose a handful of small record books, then turned and brought them to the table. "And leaving all the mundane parts of the business to yours truly."

"Who takes home a fortune." Cole countered, a crooked smile on her face as she spun a wooden chair around, sitting at it backwards leaning forward on the backrest and awaiting the report from her manager.

"You can get rid of me anytime you want." She stated indifferently as she set the books on the table, then reached into her sleeves to take out a bundle of envelopes.

"Mm, nice try, but my endless stream of free art is going to stay endless, so you're not going anywhere."

She shrugged, "suit yourself, Boss." She remained standing, taking one of the already opened letters out of the bundle. She'd already read them all, but sometimes Cole requested to see them herself. "I suppose..." Her mood suddenly became sullen; melancholy. "I should start with the bad news."

* * *

Gates was in his private study, inside the now semi-operable capital building that was constructed where the candy palace used to be. He was alone, with exposed, diagonal steel framework being the only thing between the large chamber and broad, ornately shaped openings to the midday outside.

He sat at his desk, with the projection apparatus that was used in the audience with Princess Bubblegum laid out in front of him. It was turned on, with the projector's size scaled down to a more reasonable level. He was expecting a call from Nugondowan any minute.

Nugondowan was far to the west of Ooo, and therefore several hours behind. Gates figured it was early morning over there. He checked his watch constantly. Finally, the projector started blaring static, receiving a signal. The image stabilized and adjusted itself, until finally a face became visible with a blurred background.

"Good morning, your Majesty," Gates greeted her as he took a slight bow, a hoof over his chest.

Karas Brimstone huffed from a brief instance of laughter. "And good afternoon to you, Strategist. You're alone on your end, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"So am I. There's no need for formalities, Gates."

He shrugged indifferently. "As you wish, Empress. I'm glad we could talk privately. A lot has happened and there's a lot to discuss."

"Yes, there is," she concurred.

"Let's start with the big thing then." Gates was completely relaxed in front of her. He had a bucket of apples next to his chair, picked from the abundance of apple trees around the Candy Kingdom. He had one in his hoof, and took a bite out of it. "What is the Floodgate?"

"I'm not sure," she answered simply.

"So we're conquering land and people, over something you're uncertain of?" He didn't hesitate to be critical of her.

"That is precisely correct, Gates. I'm uncertain what the Floodgate is, and so if I simply ask for it, it will draw the flies of countless foreign con men, or rulers who just want extra wealth and influence, who will attempt to sell me their own 'Floodgates' without regard for its authenticity. Not to mention Bubblegum's intention to keep it away from me." She shook her head slightly, "conquering this land, and finding it ourselves is the only way to be sure."

Gates considered this, "your reasoning is sound... I've met quite a few natives who know how to lie through their teeth." He finished his apple, swallowing it core, seeds, stem and all, "now for the next big question: Why is the Floodgate so important?"

She took a deep breath, and ended it looking downward. Gates knew that she probably had her hands on her elbows. "Nugondowan... our homeland, is slowly dying, Gates. It has been for hundreds of years. The evidence of this is conclusive. I saw the data myself."

This was news to Gates. Nugondowan on the whole certainly wasn't the most fertile land in the world. But mechanized equipment and artificial means of enriching soil was able to compensate for the lack of natural fertility. "And... the Floodgate is causing this slow death of our land?"

"We know they're correlated, and it's the only clue we have as to why Nugondowan is slowly dying. That's why the Empire must find it as soon as possible; it could be a false lead, or it could merely lead to another lead." The searing magma of cold, callous rage. Which always waited in the sideline of her consciousness made its way to the edges of her face. "We find it the same way we conquered Nugondowan: Efficiently, effectively, waiting for nobody. And if it goes against the wishes of other conscious beings, then let them burn, and let them die out."

"Karas, I..." Gates had to say this. She hadn't changed at all since the empire completed its conquest of Nugondowan almost a year ago. "I think, that in this case, now, you're invading a land of innocence; a culture and people whom you do not understand, and have no right to impose your will upon."

Karas Brimstone did not soften, nor stop to consider. The cold rage simply became more apparent on her face. "If any denizen of Ooo wishes to survive, they need only not resist Brimstone rule. Survival is a choice that every individual makes, and I am not uprooting that."

Gates knew that this was an immoral imposition, for which she'd offered no real justification. "Karas Brimstone, you know better than that. You know that what you're doing is-"

"Yes, Gates. I'm fully aware, and I don't give a damn. I don't like to explain myself."

Gates sighed. He could in no way disapprove; this was exactly the part of Karas' character that made her a great leader. What made it possible to conquer Nugondowan, and... what would enable her to find the Floodgate.

"Gates," she calmed a bit. "If it's too much for you, then you're free to retire. You've... more than earned that."

Gates shook his head. "Many years ago, I stepped down from being the head of the van Duke Conglomerate, moving myself to a secondary position. My replacement was my apprentice; a bright young lady who feared nobody and nothing, not even kings and politics. When I did this, I told her that I'd support her in whatever she did. Back then I could only imagine where this would lead us." He relaxed, propping his hind hooves atop the desk while leaning back in his desk chair. "My apologies, Madame. But there's no way you're getting rid of me."

It was at this, that her expression actually softened. It became approachable, almost kind. "You... are truly an irreplaceable horse, Gates van Duke."

* * *

Cole was leaning on the table, staring down at it. Her stone facial features twisted into a hard glare. Tzibarc had just finished reading out a letter. The letter came from a larger, rival machine company. The same company that had commissioned her to drill the hole through the Spine.

"Cole..." She was genuinely worried. "It's not the end of the world. There might be a way out of it."

She reached out a hand, not looking away from down at the table, gesturing for Tzibarc to hand her the letter. She did so tentatively, then Cole snapped her head up and began reading it herself.

"Cole, please listen. Getting angry will not help your situation."

"I told them..." She said out loud as her eyes darted through the letter. "I told those mathing, flipping lunatics but did they listen? No! Of course they flipping didn't!" her voice became louder, sharper, angrier. She set the letter down, and looked Tzibarc on the eye. "I told them that the drilling barge was only good for that one job. I told them to sell the damn thing to a museum or something."

"You're right." She replied clinically. "They have no right to hold you financially responsible for the workers who got hurt. It was their own decision to try and create a second opening through the Spine. Howev-"

"You've got some experience in law, Tzibarc. Can I beat them in court?"

She took a deep breath. "No, I don't know any way. But I know some other people who might-"

She snapped into motion, pacing back and forth on her side of the table. "I designed it, so they found a nice loophole in the law that lets them fine me a nice sum of cash. If I had you back then..." Her voice started raising again. "You could have told me, that the contract had a clause that says they can bend me over backwards and-" She snapped into motion again as she snatched up a drinking glass and whipped it at the wall. "Screw me over!" The glass shattered on impact. She remained standing there, still as stone in her dark green jumpsuit.

Tzibarc did not see her face as she walked around the table and approached her from behind. Her idea to find a different lawyer who could help was just a false hope ploy to comfort her. The larger company's case against Cole was rock-solid, and stood to take away everything she owned. Tzibarc tried to place a hand on her shoulder. "Cole, please don't do anything rash." Her thin, mouse-like hand reached her smooth, hard shoulder. "You have an incredible gift. If you do something that makes you a criminal, it will all go to waste."

Cole was shaking, unable to contain her anger. "They're the criminals..."

"You're right." She affirmed gently. "They're the criminals and you did nothing wrong. You're the victim in this."

Cole shook her head. "No, that's where you're wrong." She looked back at Tzibarc, letting her hand fall off her shoulder. The look on her face was not sad or hurt in the slightest. "Cole Ajama is not a victim. She will never be a victim!" Cole Ajama said these words forcefully. Then she went and walked briskly out of the office, Tzibarc following behind.

"Cole, please tell me. What are you planning to do?" She had to trot slightly to keep up with Cole's energetic pace.

"Those cocksuckers get paid a cut for every ship that passes through their hole. They're rolling in cash, and this is how they treat me."

"That's probably their reason for coming after you." Tzibarc explained, having to pull her robes close to herself to keep them grazing on the tightly packed machines and half-completed prototypes as she followed Cole to one of the far-off walls. "They don't control you. You drilled the first hole; you could well drill another and steal their business. That makes you a threat."

"As if I would do that." She was shaking her head. "You don't go back and repeat the same gag. That's boring." They reached the far wall. Where two towering silos connected into the main building. She turned a hydraulic release switch, which opened a curved blast door, unsealing the cylinder-shape of the silo on the left, thereby revealing the lower part of a prototype rocket. "You move onto the next gag." she was smiling to herself.

"This... is worrying me. Please tell me you're not going to do what I think you're going to do." Tzibarc saw Cole move over to a paper drafting table, take a pencil and start heatedly jotting down figures and calculations. She walked closer and saw the longitude and latitude of the workshop, as well as a different pair of coordinates. "Cole, don't hurt anybody. That arc rocket has an explosive payload." Tzibarc had negotiated a contract with the military for Cole's workshop to develop a surface to surface weapon with incredible range. This rocket was the prototype.

"Relax, Tzibarc, I'm not targeting people," she said impatiently as she took an intricate clockwork mechanism and wound its knobs and gears in a precise manner according to the calculations on paper. "Tzibarc, do me a solid and figure the environmental data."

"We don't have any wind today. None at all."

"Thaank you," she snipped naturally as she made no changes to the targeting box. She then proceeded to climb up a metal ladder inside the silo with the box, disappearing out of view.

Tzibarc got a close look at the other coordinates on the sheet. She had comprehensive geographical knowledge of Nugondowan, and had no trouble deducing what Cole's target was. She heard her come down the silo from installing the wound up trajectory box into the rocket, which would regulate its air fins in a preset order and timing. "You're targeting the East Bloodpool Dam."

"That's right." Cole replied. "Those pricks who are sueing me; eighty percent of their facilities are in that low ground. My rocket will damage the dam, and in the ensuing hazard they'll have to stop all their work until the damage is repaired."

"And it will cost them millions in delays." Tzibarc completed. "Then the police, or the military will be at your doorstep, and you'll go to jail for a very long time."

"Nope! She declared cheerfully as she hit the switch to reseal the silo. "Because I'm leaving the country."

"This entire continent is the country, Cole." Tzibarc had to reason with her. Cole was acting on emotion, and would more than likely regret it later. "You don't have to do this."

"Oh, but I do. That's where you're wrong, Tzibarc. They're gonna get what's coming to them, and not one thing that's rightfully mine. After I take off from the aerodrome, I'm gonna bomb the workshop from above." She narrated this plan as she worked the control panel, putting the rocket through pre-launch preparation.

"Well, don't do it until I'm clear from the area." Tzibarc said sarcastically. "Really, just take a minute or two to think about what you're doing."

"Oh, and... you're coming with me." Cole said naturally, half-ignoring Tzibarc's pleas for sanity.

"What!" She was taken aback by this. "I'm not your slave, Cole. You can't force me to come with you on this."

"I'm not forcing you." She hit the final launch button, and the entire place erupted with the noise of the rocket bursting to life. It was not visible behind the blast door, but touching its metal surface at this point would give a nasty surprise. "But it would be cruel of me to leave you behind." She continued, looking her way and speaking over the deafening noise of the rocket launch.

Tzibarc became indignant at this. "What makes you think I'm reliant on you in any way?"

Cole walked up to her, no longer needing to man the rocket, placing a hand on her shoulder like she was her pal. "Because I'm the most interesting person you know."

She countered, "that's quite the claim you're-"

"How'd your date go? Last night, I mean."

Tzibarc clenched her teeth, her eye twitching. "It went poorly. The guy was a hack."

Cole just smiled, then walked past her. "To the aerodrome! There's no time to lose."

Tzibarc took the deepest, longest and most exasperated of breaths. "Where are we going?' She followed her to the lift that would take them up to the aerodrome.

"We're leaving the country."

"Yes, but where?"

"Why, the Land of Ooo, of course."

* * *

"What does one do in the face of unjustified imposition..?" Miccs Milkshake was in the passenger's seat of a car, having just been asked this question. In her view the car passed by pedestrians that were a swirling mix of candy people and immigrants from across the ocean. They looked different, behaved different, but there was no hostility.

"Yes, precisely my question." Sir Rattleballs answered from the driver's seat of the car, taking them through the streets of the Candy city. The place was completely different; asphalt had been laid onto the roads, and all new buildings were being constructed from wood or brick. Like a melting pot of cultures, it was a swirling mix of bright colors and realistic grit. All centered around a steel spire that made no secret of its massive exposed cogs and broad, over-expansive pipework. At the top of the spire, visible from nearly every part of the city, was a smokestack that released dark fumes into the air. "When a force you cannot fight against imposes a wish you do not approve of onto you, what is the appropriate thing to do? The honorable thing?"

Miccs was somewhat bored by this conversation topic. "You're pretty philosophical for a robot." Their destination was Jake Junior's new headquarters. They'd just made a major collection from a wealthy client, and Rattleballs had defeated the client's large group of guards easily. Jake Jr. was the kingpin; the central organizer of their operations, and so they had to deliver her her cut.

"I am old, and experienced," he clarified.

"Are you trying to make sense out of working for me and JJ?" She asked, curious. "You can just run away, you know. I didn't install a killswitch on you or anything. I would have if I could have, but I don't quite have the knowledge or equipment for something like that."

Rattleballs shook his head behind the wheel. "No, for repairing me out from a state of complete disability, I owe you a life debt, and can no more deny it than water could flow uphill."

"Then what's the issue?"

"Serving you is the honorable thing. But the work which you and your... leader, the one you call Jake Junior, have had me do is far less so. I do not enjoy it, and yet I have no choice. So I ask: What is the appropriate response? Down what path does honor lie?"

"Well, as a biased individual I'd tell you to just shut up and deal with it." The young girl said this in a dispassionate, cynical tone. Then she took a long breath. "But as one consciousness to another, I would say that you should think for yourself, and not only pursue what makes you happy, but decide what that is. If it'd make you happier to risk your life fighting against or escaping from the imposing force, then it does. If you're happy enough in servitude, then you are. There are many ways in which we can simplify the world around us, which we neglect to do."

"Mm," Rattleballs was processing this. "That's quite deep, for an adolescent like you to say."

"I'm sorry you weren't restored by a nicer person. I really am." her tone was sincere.

"You 'd never met me before in your life, and yet you devoted time and resources into repairing me. That, at least, says something about your character, Miss Milkshake."

She was shaking her head. "All I had on my mind as I fixed you up were big, juicy dollar signs. I fully intended to profit from you the moment I found you."

Rattleballs voiced no objection to this confession of her motives. A minute passed as they drove through the city. He slowed down, and took a turn at an intersection. "If the profit motive is capable of inspiring such..." he looked down at the weld where he'd previously been broken in half, running his free hand along its lumpy, thoroughly done texture. "Acts of kindness and caring." He looked up, at the imposing steel spire in the center of the city, which the car was now heading in the general direction of after the turn. "Then perhaps the world could do for more of it."

* * *

Flame Princess reached the narrow, upper area of the shaft.

At last her slowly burnt footholes in the glass reached high enough. She was propped at the sides of the shaft, far above the floor of her cell, with a hand and a foot against one side, and the other hand and foot at the other.

It was ironic, really, that the very thing keeping enough air from flowing in to allow her to fly was also what allowed her to prop herself in the upper area of her cell. The shaft was narrow enough. Had to be narrow enough to have prevented her escape. In an odd manner, the physics of the world inevitably became her ally.

She tightened herself, then took a leap off all four of her contact points at once. She'd propelled herself a short distance upward, then she pushed out again, propping herself at a slightly higher spot of the shaft.

Compared to the agony of burning footholes in the glass while hanging onto the previous ones, this was a walk in the park. The foul-tasting coal had kept her well-nourished, and she was actually in the best shape of her life.

It didn't take long. She reached the top of the shaft, pushing its hatch open and climbing out.

She emerged to an outdoor wasteland. All around her was the grey badland in the far north of her kingdom, which was uninhabited, and considered a part of her kingdom and not any other only because of how useless and void of life it was.

Flame Princess turned, and saw the source of her regular coal meals. It was a hulking metal gravity box, fitted with a clockwork mechanism that opened the feed for a few seconds several times a day. It was gray as the land around it, and therefore nearly impossible to discern form a distance from the many cracks, crevices and geysers of the barren badland.

She sucked in a large intake of air, and boosted herself up to the top edge of the metal container, looking down at its vast reserves of coal.

It was enough coal to have kept her alive for a hundred years.

A hundred years, trapped in that cell; that hell. The ensuing buildup of emotion was so powerful, so beyond anything she'd ever felt, that there was no way to know what it was; anger, at those who'd imprisoned her. Sorrow and pain, over her long solitude. Or fear, at how much longer it could have lasted had she done nothing.

She howled, screamed, shouted, at the sky, the earth, herself. She released an immense burst of fire energy from her being, onto the vast reserve of coal at her feet. It all caught fire, turning into an orange-hot, smoldering state that released immense heat.

Tired, both physically and mentally, she let herself fall and dive onto the roasting bed of coal. Becoming one with her flames as they thrived off the reserved energy of the black sediment. It released all of the waste onto the sky via smoke, keeping herself pure by no effort other than her own nature.

It was bliss.


	17. Those Crazy Humans

_They tried to keep me in the dark. Or perhaps they didn't care to tell me; it is history after all. But I know. It was going to happen sooner or later that I learn._

 _I know that the conflict a thousand years ago, the cataclysm that changed the world forever, I know it was humans- my kind, who were responsible for it._

 _Maybe they've forgotten. Nobody I have ever met has blamed me, or even associated me with that event. Whatever the case I feel vaguely responsible. Being the last of an extinct species can create unique feels about certain things. I'm a representative; what I do will reflect on the rest of my people should others still exist in some unknown pocket of the world._

 _I am an adventurer. It is my job to protect the Land of Ooo. That is a duty I've found an additional reason to be satisfied with, as it is the best possible way to show the world that I care, and I'd never be driven to destroy it._

 _-_ Finn the Human

* * *

"So that's the story of your imprisonment."

Finn, Rudy and Kindle; the ordinary fire elemental whom Finn had rescued by accident in place of Flame Princess, were seated on protruding stones inside the cave. They were gathered around a small magma pool which lit the cave. It had been a half hour since Finn had arrived at this rendezvous point with Kindle, and banished Craw to the Nitosphere.

"That's pretty much it. Nothing glamorous or intriguing" Kindle said. "My relatives were information dealers, and they stumbled on a secret they shouldn't have. I was imprisoned and interrogated along with them to ensure the secret hadn't spread to other people. Once they were finished, they left me in the cell and the bureaucracy treated me like any old prisoner."

"What was the secret?" Finn asked.

"The secret was a location; a set of charting coordinates which point to a spot in the northeast area of the kingdom. I don't know what's there or why it's important, but the location alone was highly sensitive information."

"How long were you imprisoned?"

"Six... seven years? I was eight when they took me."

"Dear Glob..." Finn was rubbing the face shield of his suit. "How come FP didn't do something? When she became ruler of the Fire Kingdom..."

"She likely had no way of knowing." Rudy said. "There's a lot of change in administration when a new monarch is crowned, especially if they came to power by force. Kindle's case file probably looked no different from that of any other criminal to the outside eye."

Finn was frowning. "I can't believe Flame King would condone locking up an eight year old girl over information. And leaving her there to rot."

"He did something similar to his own daughter, didn't he?"

"There might be more prisoners with wrongly placed, or disproportionately harsh sentences. Once we find Flame Princess, I'm going to talk to her about it."

"Yes, well..." Rudy trailed off in response to Finn's plan. "In regard to finding our missing young ruler, if that doesn't happen; if we don't have her, I'm afraid that this insurgency is as good as finished."

This was a pessimistic appraisal, which Finn had an impulsive desire to counter. "You sound awfully confident, old man. Like you know what's going to happen."

"I have experience, young man. I've witnessed coups and civil wars in my time, hundreds of years back on the Continent of Nugondowan. And I've seen a pattern like this. Everybody involved with Cinnamon Bun's rebellion is going to be written as a criminal, and placed on the wrong side of history."

Finn exhaled in annoyance. He rose to his feet and walked out to the cave entrance. Kindle saw him do this, got up as well and followed.

Outside the cave, Finn was overlooking the small clearing, accessible only by two narrow passes on opposite ends.

Kindle was behind him. "Finn, I'm-"

"It's alright, Kindle," he said. "What happened to you was terrible. I'm glad I rescued you from it."

"But I'm not the person you were looking for... The person you need."

"If I wasn't looking for her..." Finn trailed off, deep in his own thoughts. "I would have left you to rot in that cell forever, complacent and happy with my life, not knowing..."

"The nobility are the ones who did it. Don't feel guilty."

"I can't just fight the injustices that come to me. I need to be able to seek them out. If Jake hadn't been searching on my behalf, I'd never have met Flame Princess; she'd well still be a prisoner in the lamp above the throne room."

Kindle was frowning with thought. "Nobody is able to know everything. It's all you can do to work with the information you have."

"The information I have is there's a jerk on FP's throne. And the rebel cause I've joined is losing bad." He shook his head violently. "I've lost an arm recently. I'm not in the best shape-"

"What are you going to do?"

He calmed, taking in the rocky scenery ahead of him, a black and red sky above. "I'm done being a reactionary. It is evil that should be afraid of me, not the other way around." He turned and headed into the cave, smiling at Kindle as he passed her by. "I've freed you, now let's create stable country, shall we?"

Kindle watched him head back into the cave, a slight look of dumbfounded amazement on her face.

"Rudy!" Inside the cave, Finn stopped near the short, ropy old man, who was staring into the magma pond. "Hey, do you know how to cast Flame Shield?"

"Of course I do." He was blue all over on account of it being cast on himself. "It's a pretty basic fire spell."

Finn began undoing metal latches on the structuring of his fireproof suit. "Do it on me. This suit is too stiff for what I'm planning.

Rudy shot to his feet, and began tracing the runes through the air. "What are you planning to do?"

"Oh, you know..." He turned his helmet, depressurizing it before taking it off. "Hero stuff." Even inside the cave, the Fire Kingdom air was ash-ridden and hot. He could barely breathe with his helmet off.

Rudy completed the spell, tapping on Finn's forehead as the blue energy field enveloped his exterior. "There you go, one flame shield."

Finn was now wrestling with the body of the suit, getting it off.

"What do you mean by 'hero stuff?'"

One of his arms was free, "I'm going to head straight to the Fire Palace, kick down the door, cut through the guards, and pump Flame King so full of dirt it makes him cry."

"That's... Finn that's nuts. That's psycho. Even if you make it past the guards, do you really think you're a match for Flame King? He's a giant! And you're... well, you're a human. Humans are small and weak."

Finn was nodding at this, taking it in as he shook himself out of the waist area of the suit. "Just over a week ago, I saw a small, weak human take on someone even more powerful than Flame King, and nearly win."

"You mean..." he had his eyes shut in recollection, his arms crossed. "The guy who attacked you earlier? I thought it was weird seeing two humans in one century."

"That was Craw, yeah. He showed me a lot of cool things before we were enemies. And one of them is that humans are the opposite of weak."

"I can't help you, you know. I know magic that can lay waste to cities, but it's all fire-based. I'd all be useless against these people."

"That's fine," he stepped out of the suit and stretched his body. "Look after Kindle. I'll handle this myself."

"You sound awfully confident, young man."

Finn was already leaving the cave, free of his fireproof suit. But he turned around, and nodded in Rudy's direction. "I have skills, old man. Being the Hero of Ooo is my job, and it's time I took it seriously." The space ahead of him began to blur, he walked into the blur, and vanished from sight.

Rudy ran out of the cave, and saw Finn already halfway across the clearing. Kindle was staring in disbelief as well.

Finn waved back at them. "Take care you guys! Be sure to read about me when this is done."

* * *

It was rare in the Nightosphere for Hunson Abadeer, its ruler, to be away from his spot near the portal that exited the dimension. But these were exceptional circumstances.

" _He ripped the cell bars out of their housing, and put a hardcore beatdown on every guard that came after him."_ A report given to him not long ago, by a minor demon serving as a messenger.

He was headed to a plateau, risen above a vast body of magma. Any smaller demon in his path made way for his giant form as he moved through a land bridge which led to this outlying area.

" _He cut in line, and then threatened the gate guard. Breaking the rules for serious, you know?"_

"Dad!"

Marceline was flying, easily catching up to Hunson. "What is it, Marceline? Your dad's kinda busy right now."

"Have you considered the story I told you? About the Brimstone Empire, and their encroachment on the Land of Ooo?"

"Marcy, I haven't had any major interests in the upside world for a long time. And as long as that pink princess and her human attack dog are still around, I'll have no such plans anytime soon."

"Hmph," She crossed her arms hovering, sneering lightly. "The mighty ruler of the Nightosphere, afraid to do business in what he perceives as the Candy Princess' turf. What a fearsome fellow he sounds like."

Hunson did not slow in his stride. "The 'mighty ruler of the Nightosphere' would be you, Marceline, if you wanted it. Then you could lead demon armies to fight all the Brimstone Empires you pleased. But you don't even want to shoulder what I'm doing, let alone the expansion you suggest. Let's not talk about who's the wuss, Marcy. It's obvious I'd win that argument."

Marceline had a reddened face as they moved rapidly along the path. "What are you doing so far out from your spot?"

"Some new chump was banished here and he's making trouble, disrupting the natural chaos of things. I need to teach him a lesson."

"You mean all those beaten up demons I saw? That was one guy?"

"One human guy, according to my fellas. I swear their kind can't walk two steps without stirring up all the hives. I still remember your friend, that Finn." He was growling the name.

"Whoa dad. You told me you thought Finn was on the level. That you and him were cool now."

"I know what I said." he had a forced calm. "But he could be arsed to not send other members of his species to my sphere. They always make a mess of things."

"Wait..." Marceline trailed off, still easily keeping up with Hunson's long strides in her flight. "Does he have dark skin, and a golf caddy type thing of swords?"

"Yeah, that's right. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, nothing..." She had a secret smirk. "I'm definitely tagging along. I've got to see this."

"Well isn't that swell?" He said literally. "You can just sit back, Marcy. And watch how your old man does business."

* * *

Flame King had just received a report, floated up from a random sentry post in the Fire Kingdom wilderness. His daughter had escaped, and was blazing through the sky headed straight for the Capitol.

"She escaped on her own." Don Jon remarked, shaking his head. "Gotta wonder how."

"We don't need to know." Flame King said. "The reality is she's coming, and all of the plans of the Convent will fall apart."

"Did she ever even know that those people existed?"

"I doubt it. And now she won't need to." Flame King looked at Don Jon intently. "You have an assignment, my friend."

"Right." he bumped off the column he was leaning on, and walked off. "I'll... see you when I see you." He stopped to say this.

"She's going to arrest me, Don." Flame King had a bit of laughter in his voice as he said this. "There's no safer place in all of Ooo than under arrest in my daughter's regime. She doesn't believe in execution."

Don Jon nodded as he waved backward, walking away.

* * *

Craw had watched this exchange between Flame King and Don Jon. He was standing in front of a scrying crystal, inside of Hunson Abadeer's private chamber. "Well isn't that..." he shook his head rapidly. "Just a bunch of sentimental hunky dory."

"I thought I'd find you here."

Craw turned to the source of the voice, and saw Marceline, leaning sideways into the door frame at the entrance. "You were quick to see through my little ruse." He nodded upward, and then turned back to the crystal. "You tip off your dad?"

"Naw, he still thinks you're out on Craggy Reach Island, and not here rummaging through his stuff."

"You gonna stop me?"

"Naw again." She shot effortlessly into levitation, and floated across the room toward him. She then flew a wide circle around his field of vision. "You and your little empire are coming real close, Craw."

"Close to what?' He was still looking through the scrying crystal.

"Getting me invested."

"Well aren't you just making me blush with jealousy." he looked up at her a bit now, but remained detached in his demeanor. "Invested... I haven't been that myself since before Nugondowan was unified."

Marceline had a self-satisfied smile, slowing and stopping, but still levitating. "And I'm not sharing my secrets, especially not to a being that can die. Really, how hard can it be for a human to give a jam? Finn does it effortlessly."

"You need to understand, Marceline: I've already had a long, world-changing adventure on Nugondowan, and because of this I'm on what Role Playing Games would describe as level eighty. I'm a few years older than Finn, and about as strong as he'll be in another few years."

"Assuming he has a long, world-changing adventure."

"Are you kidding?" He turned away from the scrying crystal, walking toward the doorway. "He has a Brimstone Empire to protect his homeland from. And a Craw to avoid getting killed by the next time he meets. He's gonna flower like a field of dandelions."

"I'm still peeved at you for cutting off his arm." She followed close behind as he walked toward the doorway.

"That's for him to be peeved about, I would think. It was his arm, not yours."

"He's my friend. I can be peeved on his behalf."

"Yes, if he was genuinely hurt. How hurt was he by the loss of his arm, Marceline? Honest, now."

"It's the permanent loss of a limb." She said firmly. "I can't believe you're trying to downplay it."

"He woke up, had a little cry, squinted with pain for the first few days, and otherwise got past it. Is this accurate?" He stopped at the doorway, and turned around to face her, his eyebrows slightly raised.

She exhaled in annoyance, crossing her arms. "It's... accurate. Howev-"

"Humans are far stronger than you give them credit for, Marceline. Much more than frilly immortals with their vampiric monster forms."

Her feet were on the ground now, and her eyes slowly turning into vertical monster eyes. "I could eat you alive if I wanted, Craw."

"Yes, and you're not going to. And therein lies my point." He turned halfway. "If you really cared about anything, you'd rule the Nightosphere, and use that power to help your friends. There'd be risks, and a trade off. But people who give a jam can handle the trade offs."

"It's not what I want to do with my life. And nobody gets to decide that but me."

He shook his head. "You've already made that decision, it seems. Fighting off boredom in a vacuum."

"Yeah..?" Her face became indignant. "And is that somehow a problem?"

"Of course not. It means there's no possible way you'll ever, by any stretch of circumstance get in the way of the Empire. I'm pleased with that." He was smiling.

She exhaled, relaxing her face and sagging a bit. "I... am going to go do something else. You know your way out, right?"

"Of course, the big portal over the main hall. See you later Marceline." he shut the door behind him as he left.

* * *

When Ice King saw the invasion of the Candy Kingdom, he thought it was some big, elaborate, crazy party. When the palace was rebuilt into a steam-powered metal tower, and the city's newer buildings were constructed out of lumber and stone, he thought Princess Bubblegum was having a creative flash and wanted to redecorate.

He flew over the city one day, flapping his big beard and looking down at the peoples below. There were a lot of new faces. A lot of new... bodies. People with fur or scales. Some had skin that looked like shaped stone with crystal for hair. They saw him flying above, and he attracted a lot of attention from them; more than candy people ever gave him.

He enjoyed the attention greatly, and even tried to talk to the new faces. But then one day, one of them lifted a long gun and shot at him. A spray of birdshot, the tiny beads of which buried into his skin and stung like crazy. He froze the shooter with a ice blast in retaliation, but this attracted the attention of the police. He scrammed back to the Ice Kingdom, intending to lay low.

And now, the ecosystem of the Ice Kingdom had been disturbed. One of his penguins reported to him that all wildlife near the border with the grasslands had been spooked from the area. He flew to this spot, and saw it: A giant horizontal drill eating through the ice and stone of one of the mountains. The drill looked to have been assembled from smaller, more manageable pieces. From his vantage point in the sky, he saw a large camp of Nugondos farther off.

"Hey, what's the big idea!" Ice King came down beside the drill. The roar of its engine and the grinding of the stone past the ice tried to drown out his voice with its shrill din. There was one person in the drill's cockpit, and many more Nugondos beside it. "I'm talking to you!" Ice King climbed up the metal ladder bars. The operator was indifferent, wearing a filter mask and earmuffs as he stared straight ahead, concentrated on his task. Ice King poked his shoulder.

The operator turned, throttling down the drilling rig as he pulled his mask off to set atop his head, and his earmuffs down to set around his neck. He had a furry, diminutive face with a conspicuous set of long whiskers; like an otter. His nose twitched as he looked over at Ice King. "Can I help you sir?"

"Can you help me!" He said rhetorically as his arms shot into the air. "You're messing my ecosystem, dude!"

"Well no, sir." His head shook a bit, and his large whiskers flicked twice. "Pennyvice Mining and Co. has a lease on these mountains. We're boreing a hole, to make way for a more methodical tunneling web."

"You're scarin' off the wildlife with your pollutin' metal monstrosity." Ice King said, getting into the lingo. "I ain't gonna take none of that swag."

"I'm just doing my job, sir. If you have a complaint you can take it to management." He leaned out, pointing in the direction of the camp. "Look for Rissa Maccu."

Ice King was brought down by the otter man's civil response. He looked over at the camp, then at him, then raised a finger, and then had to lower it. "Alright, alright..." His lips moved to say as he floated off the ladder and back down to the ground. "Take my complaint to management..." he grumbled.

"Hey Frank!' Another Nugondo on the ground, next to Ice King was pointing at him and looking up at the otter in the cockpit. "Who the hell is this guy?"

"Just some nature yuppie who doesn't like the drill." The Otter Man said.

"Nature yuppie!" Ice King frowned up at the drill operator. "Who are you calling a-"

The Drill had throttled up again, drowning out his voice. The Otter Man's earmuffs and breath mask were back on. "You guys... are a bunch of-" ice King turned to the other Nugondo, but he'd wandered off as well, shoveling coal into the drill's boiler from out of a wheelbarrow, also ignoring Ice King.

Ice King looked over at the camp in the distance, then back at the drill, whose crew operated it indifferent to him. He pouted at not getting enough attention. Then he turned to head toward the camp, grumbling to himself.

* * *

Flame King moved briskly through the corridors of the Fire Palace. Don Jon had been sent to his task hours ago, and now there was one final loose end to tie.

He ran into him by chance, rounding back to the throne room. Mory, the squat and diminutive elemental. "Flame King!" He growled when he saw him. "We haven't much time. Your daughter has escaped, and is headed this way."

"I know." Flame King stopped next to him. "You know what that means, yes?"

"It means we must act quickly to salvage the situation. I've alerted the capture team. You'll be the bait, as you're the first person she'll come to."

"And where will the capture team lie in wait?" Flame King asked.

Mory turned, and paced. "They're entering the city now via the east gate. The terraces overhead this chamber will provide an adequate vantage point-"

Just as Mory finished the sentence, Flame King grabbed him around the neck, lifting the small man effortlessly into the air. "That's all I need from you now, Mory. You're hereby dismissed, forever, from the Royal Palace and this Kingdom."

"You... fool..." Mory glared down at Flame King, grasping his larger arm with his hands as he gasped for air. "Kill me, and your life is forfeit. Our death dealers will find you."

"I'm counting on it." Flame King slammed the small man against the wall, pinching his neck into the hard surface behind. "The time for wretched scum, scum like you and me, is at its end, Mory. I'm bringing it to an end."

Mory coughed, but he grinned, raising his face in defiance. "We can control your daughter all the same, you silly king. As easily as we've controlled you."

Flame King's fingers tightened, choking Mory's main breathing orifice. He began fading, then hyperventilating air through his flesh. "She... won't even need to know you existed."

Mory wanted to retaliate. His mouth moved to say something, an insult, a curse, anything. But he could not speak.

"Use that crystal of yours, Mory. One last time." Flame King growled. "Let it tell you what I'm going to do."

The Sky Crystal was in Mory's hands. He looked at Flame King, and knew his thoughts; all of his thoughts and memories, even down to the subconscious.

But it gave him zero control; no power to protect himself. Flame King's other hand slammed into Mory's gut in a devastating body punch. The impact compromised Mory's flesh, and the vibratory force accompanied the separation of his body into dismembered chunks and a flurry of flambos.

Mory was dead. And Flame King recovered the Sky Crystal, dropped on the floor. When he touched it, its colors changed from Mory's dismal set. A deep, saturated red in the center of the crystal's transparent shape. On the outer area it was black, with a hair-thin glimmer of golden yellow dancing and ebbing over the black perimeter to its red center.

Flame King set it on the seat of the red throne, and continued walking past it.

"My King!" A soldier came running into the throne room, through the large entry doors which were left open.

"Yes, what is it?"

The soldier stopped, and saluted. "It's your daughter, she's returned! The sentries in the northern region have spotted her passing overhead. She'll be here in under an hour."

"I see." He nodded. "There's a group of soldiers entering the city via the east gate, no?"

The soldier thought for a moment, then nodded. "Indeed there is, my Liege. Special forces markings."

"Put the word out that I want them arrested immediately. They will await judgment from the King within the palace dungeon."

"Aye, sir!" The soldier saluted, and moved rapidly out of the hall.

With this out of the way, Flame King left the throne room, left the palace, and would leave the city.

* * *

"This is all I need..." Craw stepped out into the portal hall of the Nightosphere. Hunson Abadeer was there, waiting for him. "You done went and lied, Marceline." She did tip off her dad.

She was silent, smiling smugly as she levitated in the background. Hunson was in full monster form, peering down at Craw. "Nobody leaves the Nightosphere, human. I've got a world of punishment and tedious, soul-crushing bureaucracy in store for you."

"Please, my name is Craw." He took two swords out of his caddy, arming both hands.

"Ooh!" Hunson had a hand on his chest, speaking in a mocking tone. "Maybe my little pieces of metal can hurt a demon."

A narrow connection of space between the shaft of a sword and Hunson began to blur.

Hunson caught the sword in the air between two fingers. "If I just throw it hard enough!" He taunted as he threw the weapon away like a toothpick.

A wind blade was next. Craw growled as he made a downward slash into the air particles ahead, slowing time for his blade and speeding it up for the air. The vacuum and subsequent wave of thick air expanded as it came upon Abadeer. Craw continued, making a horizontal wind slash with another sword as he drew it from his caddy, this one was aimed far above.

"I wasn't born yesterday, kid." Hunson caught the sharp wave of condensed air between both hands, and held it in place until it dissipated. "You learned a technique that was invented by a bunch of cat people on Nugondowan. It isn't anything special." Hunson wasn't close enough to hit Craw, but nonetheless he swiped a hand through the air.

Craw was struck by a blunt wind wave of Hunson's making. It knocked him on his behind.

"See? I can do it too. It's not some big-" Rocks, debris from above fell on Hunson's sizable form. They made him flinch. "The flip-" He forgot all about Craw's second wind wave. It had damaged the ceiling.

Craw had snapped into sudden motion. While Hunson was distracted by the debris, he'd gotten on his feet and charged swiftly at him.

Hunson hissed as he shot a much longer-reaching hand into Craw, who was now in reach.

The shot missed, with Craw standing straight and composed next to the hand fired into the floor. He slid a blade into Hunson's wrist, then pulled it out in a more abrupt motion.

He lost almost all feeling in that hand, the nerve hub having been damaged. Humans really were the most bothersome creatures Hunson had ever the misfortune to know. "Enough!" He concentrated a massive amount of chaotic energy around his other hand, and swiped it in a broad area as he withdrew his hurt hand. This energy bomb would be the end. There was no way to survive or evade it. The floor was torn apart, and the structure around them rumbled from the release. Dust and debris flew everywhere as Craw, and every place nearby he could move was caught in the effected area.

Hunson breathed with relief. This human had been an unpredictable one, but one lone specimen was no match for a demon of his power.

Pain. A three-foot blade of steel had buried itself into his eye. He turned to the source, and saw with his remaining eye. Craw was alive, having rode on Hunson's injured hand; the one with no feeling, to escape the blast. He was leveling another sword, which appeared to Hunson's remaining eye a dot-sized blur.

He quickly turned his head to protect his eye, but it was too late. The sword had already shot into it when he just got started turning. The human was fast, much faster than he could have expected. Blinded, he pulled each sword out of his eyes between two fingers. It was take time for them to regenerate.

"Do you see how that happens?" Craw broke his silence. The source of his voice was moving, and echoing through the hall. It was difficult to locate. "You talk up a huge game, and then this happens."

Hunson winced with his bleeding eyes, trying to see. His vision was already returning.

"You have to eat up all of your words: It's pretty dumb."

"You ain't gettin' off easy now!" Hunson growled, stomping through the open floor of the hall, vaguely following Craw's voice. "Bureaucracy is nothing compared to what you've just earned yourself!"

"You're more powerful than I could ever dream of being, Hunson." Craw continued, his voice at a greater distance now. "But you've never been defeated; you don't know how to handle it. One crack, and you act like a child who's had his lollipop taken away."

"You're going to learn your place, human."

"I have lost fights, and I've learned to take it like a man. It's called fault tolerance, and yours is lacking."

Hunson had heard enough of this. He was close to the human, he heard it. And now his eyesight was returning.

"And as for the Blade of Time... you do it perfectly, but exploring its possibilities requires ambition, energy and need."

His eyesight was back, and he saw the portal out of the Nightosphere, right above his head. The human had undoubtedly been going for it, but it was too high up to reach.

But then Hunson's healed eyes looked up higher, and they saw Craw, standing atop his head. Hunson didn't even feel his weight on him. Craw had slowed time for himself, distributing the time speed to the air particles behind him. His pressure on Hunson's head was that of a tiny insect; barely noticable.

Hunson grabbed him, but it was too late. Craw had leaped off his head, and into the portal out of the Nightosphere. There was no following him through. Hunson himself could only exit if somebody opened a portal from the other side.

Hunson was left alone in the Nightosphere. Marceline was still there, levitating, not having gotten involved. "Marcy..." He trailed, wanting to sag and groan. "Marcy, I gotta level with ya."

"How are you feeling, dad?" She said, feeling free to talk in the post fight.

"I hope... I hope I never need to meet another human." he was looking at Marceline now. "I'm mega-super hardcore serious. That one was every bit as bad as the last one you brought over."

"I didn't bring him over." She frowned a bit.

"All I wanted was to force him to remain in the Nightosphere for all eternity. Was that so wrong?"

"He seemed to find something objectionable about it."

Hunson stood straight again, and took his spot near the portal with propriety. "Is he part of this Brimstone Empire you've been talking about?"

"Yes!" Marceline was intent now, flying around Hunson's large head. "Whaddia think? Do you want to go to war with them now?"

"I'm not sure." Hunson mused, looking at his stabbed hand. The wound had healed, and feeling had returned to it. "Do **you** want to go to war with them?"

Marceline suddenly withdrew at this question. "...No, I don't. Not personally."

"You just saw your dad get schooled by a small mortal with an attitude, and that's not enough to get you invested?"

Marceline looked off, flying slowly now. "...No, I suppose not."

"Marcy..." His mood had sobered, and his voice softened. "Are you even happy? With your life in the upside world."

A pause. "Are you happy with your life here?" She asked.

"It's a living," he said, turning his head to follow her slow levitation about the chamber. "I work and I enjoy my job. It's my purpose."

"I've heard that answer before." Marceline said. "And I never understood it. It's circular reasoning: I enjoy this thing because this thing is enjoyable. It is such because things like it are."

"Its an inside out understanding, not outside in. Ask Bubblegum why she enjoys being a scientist and a leader, or Finn and Jake why they enjoy being adventurers. All you'll get is a shrug or dismissive answer. It's a far different reason than that of your enjoying your hobbies."

"And... you enjoy it because you got to choose, right? You picked it, it wasn't picked for you. It wasn't forced on you."

Hunson paused at this, thinking about it. "I suppose..."

"It was wrong of you, to try and force rule of the Nightosphere on me. Now I'm never even going to consider doing it. A permanent deal breaker."

"If your decision is based entirely on me, then it's good your answer is no. You wouldn't have found satisfaction in another thousand years and more."

"Hmph, well, I'd love to continue verbally jousting with you, dad. But I'm gonna split." She flew toward the portal.

"Of course, Marceline. No doubt you've places not to go and things not to do."

"Very true," Marceline replied in a chipper tone. "Don't be keeping me from them." She flew through the portal.

* * *

"Not another human..! It's not fair."

The guards of the Fire Palace were set upon by one person. A human wearing a flame shield, and now it was one they knew. A light-skinned specimen by the name of Finn.

An entire squad of unconscious guards were strewn around him. He didn't use his sword. More and ever more throngs of soldiers moved swiftly out of gatehouse doors and from the palace straight ahead. The drawbridge lay open behind him, its chains severed.

A kick implanted into the face of the first guard to reach Finn. In the midst of it, he grabbed the guard's pike, pulling it out of his grip and fixing it in a position to swipe.

The swipe caught the leveled pikes of more rapidly approaching guards, pulling them aside. Finn proceeded to leap into them. He slowed time's grip on his body, causing it to remain in the air longer, and lend more power to his feet and hand.

It was difficult without both arms, or the use of his sword. He knocked down two more guards, and then leaped past their encirclement. The front entrance of the palace was preceded by a broad staircase, which he ran up as the guards unscrambled their failed encirclement and chased after.

A battle line rapidly formed in front of the palace doors as Finn approached it. They were armed with wide tubes, held with both hands and a shoulder like a bazooka. "Form up, protect the King!" An officer yelled.

Finn knew enough from fighting alongside the rebels to know what the tube-like weapons were. Impact bombs, shot at high velocity through stored pressure. The space ahead of him began to blur.

"And... fire!" The volley of round, smoldering bombs engulfed the entire staircase ahead of them in an explosion. The throng of guards pursuing Finn were nearly caught in the blast.

Finn appeared right next to the officer, behind the line of Fire Kingdom panzerschreks. The blurred space behind him dissipated. The officer saw him, and was visibly surprised.

"Sorry about this." The officer was tripped and then struck in the head by Finn's pike in an efficient double motion, knocking him unconscious.

* * *

Flame Princess had taken off while the massive reservoir of coal still burned outside her outdoor cell. She'd grown accustomed to consuming the pollutant black sediment, and nourishing herself on its energy was a pleasurable experience. But like any grand feast she eventually became full. Like any smorgasbord of sweets she eventually tired of the taste. Just as well she grow bored. There were things to do, and she now had the freedom to do them.

She flew straight toward the capital, toward the palace. Somebody had placed her in that cell, and there would be hell to pay for everybody responsible. It was about an hour flight.

She reached the palace in no time, and went straight for the throne room. It was deserted. No guards, nobody in the above lamp. However she did find something on the throne: The Sky Crystal. It sat there, solitary, and colored a deep red center, with black on the edges overlapped by thread-thin yellow. When she touched it, it became the same color as her fiery flesh inside its entire volume.

A resounding bang on the massive entrance doors to the throne room, she turned to them. One of the doors had fresh hinges and bolts; a repair job from it apparently being knocked out of its housing. This time it was the other door on the double set which was forced open, separated from its housing, and falling to the inside floor with a resounding tremor.

The figure on the other end wore a glowing blue flame shield. He was humanoid, with one arm. It didn't take her long to know who it was. "Finn!" She was surprised, but also frownling quizzically. What was he doing here? Why was he here?"

Finn emerged from the dust created by his knocking down the door, walking on it like a downed giant. He looked up the steps, and stopped when he saw her. "Flame Princess? What are you doing here? How are you here?" He walked forward, coming up to the beginning of the steps. His expression was breathless.

"Those are my questions to you." She said. "What's been happening while I was gone? Why was the Sky Crystal left here? What's your involvement with-"

Finn embraced her. As he'd come up the steps, his speed had increased. Increased to a rapidity which the physical limitations of his body mass would render impossible. He'd come right up to her, and wrapped his arm around her, hugging her tightly.

It became apparent now more than ever that Finn had lost an arm. She ignored this for now. This was the first physical or verbal contact she'd had with another being since her incarceration. It felt good; felt warm in a manner she could never produce on her own. She had a quiet smile. She saw his emotions as familiarly as she would see her own. Relief; a lifting of an immense weight. And then...

Regret, the reason they'd separated originally. The despair of an ardent wish denied. Flame Princess realized she was holding the Sky Crystal, and that it was giving her a front-row seat into his mind. She pushed him away, taking a step back and gathering her senses over what she'd just done.

He suddenly knelt to her. "My King." He said in a calm, intent tone. "You've returned, and now this entire mess can be sorted out."

Finn was off the wall, she thought. Though it was normal, she realized, for him to become very invested in something very quickly. "I'm not your king, Finn. What's going on? What has happened while I was imprisoned?"

"The Fire Kingdom is in a state of civil war, between your father and an army of loyalists led by Cinnamon Bun. I threw in with the loyalists, and that makes you my king, at least... until you're king again." He huffed in a hint of laughter at his weird logic.

"The civil war is over, Finn. I'm back, and Flame King has a lot of explaining to do when I find him. Where is he?"

A huge throng of soldiers flooded into the throne room through the knocked down door. They'd caught up to Finn. Flame Princess saw this, and walked in front of him to raise a hand. "Everybody stand down!"

The guards all recognized her, and they complied. She continued: "Send word of my return to the four corners of the Kingdom. All fighting will cease, and all rebel forces given amnesty pending my judgment."

One of the soldiers, a dispatcher, turned and went to circulate this message. Flame Princess turned back to Finn. "You stormed the palace gunning for Flame King, didn't you?"

He stood back on his feet, and nodded. "That's right. But he's not here."

"He won't elude me for long." She said, turning to the now pacified swarm of soldiers, disorganized on account of their frantic chase after Finn. One of the officers was fingered. "You, I need a report on everything that's happened, quickly."

* * *

Craw was returned to the same spot he'd been banished. The rock clearing wherein he'd found the cave, Finn and his rescuee whom it turned out hadn't been Flame Princess. And where Finn nabbed him with a Nightosphere portal.

The place was deserted and quiet now. Craw got moving, heading out of the mountains back to the roads. He ran in a relentless sprint, pushing himself forward and over the ground with hard leg thrusts, leaning forward and letting his arms dangle back.

A familiar levitating being entered the side of his vision. Marceline followed with no effort at a speed which Craw worked up a sweat to keep. He glanced at her, but said nothing.

After almost a full minute of smiling crookedly, she said something: "Has anybody ever met you and not gotten into a fight?"

He huffed at this, maintaining his breakneck sprint. The countryside passed by his vision like a rapid conveyor. "Your father tried to keep me in his dimension and incarcerate me at his mercy. My violence against him was justified."

"I'm tempted to knock you out cold, and put you on the first ship back to Nugondowan."

He had a light, crooked smile at this, looking over at her flying at the same speed. "That a threat, Marcy? You attack me and that'll be the end of you."

"Ooh! I'm so scared." She said humorously as she pivoted over his head in flight, drifting on his other side now. "The fearsome Nugondo Human will put swords in my eyes then run away- I'll be ruined!"

He was short three swords on account of Hunson. "I am going to help Brimstone conquer Ooo."

"I know." She said lightly.

"You're not going to nip me in the bud now? I'm alone out here." The road was deserted. No travelers, trade or soldiers in the area.

"What are you up to?" She asked, dismissing his suggestion.

"When I was in the Nightosphere, I saw a few things through your dad's scrying crystal. There's something about to happen, and I need to be there to stop it."

"You're being vague. What's about to happen?"

"It's the conclusion of a story that began when I busted into the Fire Palace."

"Still vague." She said. "What are you about to do?"

"I don't talk about doing things." He shook it off with his head. "I do them, and think about it after."

Marceline only stared at this answer, processing it. Her pupils dilated to a relaxed state.

"Are we ready to move?"

She snapped her gaze to her surroundings as they stopped, suddenly realizing that they'd run straight into a camp of at least several thousand people. They were not fire elementals, but rather semi-humanoids wearing insulating suits, or people made of animated stone. They all carried rifles, pistols and light fencing swords in a seemingly randomized arrangement. She recognized them as the small military force Craw had brought into the Fire Kingdom.

"You're damn right we're ready to move, Cap'n." One of them said, having come up to Craw and saluted. "Good of you to get back to us. The Royal Army peeps have been giving us the stink-eye."

"We're leaving this kingdom." Craw said. "Just as soon as we've wrapped up one last thing."

The small army of several thousand packed its camp in no time flat, and was ready to move. Craw resumed his relentlessly fast sprint, and every one of the Nugondo soldiers followed, keeping pace.

Marceline continued to openly shadow Craw.

"Are you waiting until I fall asleep so you can slit my throat?" He asked her, nodding upward.

"No, I'm putting you on ice. I was planning to shadow you anyway, might as well not bother making it a secret."

"You have nothing better to do..."

"You're bound to do something I won't like. I sat out your fighting my dad because he asked me to, but anything you try to pull up here is fair game."

"Do as you please, Vampire Queen. But stay out of my way."

* * *

Flame King had exited the Palace discreetly, not telling anybody what he was doing or where he was going. He headed north, away from civilization and toward the grey wastes; heading through a little-used pass in the mountain crags. He'd killed Mory; a member of the secret order, and now they would come for him.

It didn't take long. Covered in concealing cloaks, they dropped from the cliffs above, and landed to surround him. At least ten of them held the pass in each direction.

"You have betrayed the One Truth, Flame King." One of them said. "And your sentence is death-"

A concentrated blast of fire from Flame King struck the speaker, and the force of it disassembled him, along with any assassins near him.

It was on. They all came for him in rapid motions, brandishing dark, crystalline blades which gave off mist from their perpetually cold state.

Flame King was bigger and stronger than the assassins, but they got hits in, fearlessly striking him with their ice swords before his counterattacks could land. The heat was quickly being stolen from his body as their terrible blades sliced through his armor and into his flaming flesh. They used their numbers to maximum effect, some backing off to let their allies close in.

A giant blast of energy, unleashed as a sweeping wave. Flame King killed every assassin near him, and drove the rest into the rock walls around them. Clear, but injured, and having expended a huge amount of energy, he ran-limped further along the pass.

He emerged to a fresh clearing, where waited more assassins, double the number of the first ambush. The survivors from the previous came into the clearing behind him. He was going to die, but he would die fighting. His eyes shut as he found peace with this.

A crackling boom; a savage noise which hurt the ears and unsettled the senses. This noise intruded on the quiet scene of the assassination as though a mad savage to a dignified shindy. It was a rifle shot, and its sound echoed through the stone composition of the mountain pass. Flame King opened his eyes, and saw one of the assassins, exploded in half by the raw kinetic force of the bullet.

Brown environment suits, and people made of animated stone. They dotted vantage points at higher points than the assassins. They all had guns, and opened fire on the assassins, cutting through them like fish in a rocky barrel. More echoes, more of the savage noise of discharging powder.

The assassins came for Flame King, not allowing this ambush of their ambush to deter them. But flame King had some fight left in him. He clotheslined one of them with his superior punching reach, and as the rest swarmed around him, he swept his arm in a full-body strike, catching several more assassins and sending them flying.

But still some reached him, and buried their cold blades into him. One cut into his leg, and he dropped to a kneel. An assassin, right in front of him and now at face level had his blade up to Flame King's face.

But it would not come to pass. The assassin was killed instantly when a more ordinary sword impaled itself through his skull from the side, fired as though a projectile. Flame King turned, and saw the dark human coming. He dashed past the slain assassin, recovering his sword from his head and then parrying the strike of another assassin, following it with a lethal slash from his second blade.

It wasn't much longer at all. With the marksmen in the above ridges steadily picking targets and killing them, all of the assassins were dead in no time.

Flame King dragged himself a bit, and leaned back on the rock wall near the pass from where he entered. He was quiet, breathing from exhaustion but keeping this fact reserved.

Craw sheathed his swords into their spots in his caddy. "That... was interesting. Made yourself some powerful enemies, didn't you, Flame King?" he looked upward, at a Vampire girl levitating above. "Went and ran off to die so I could save his bonks. Isn't that a story..."

"Alright, your round." her arms were crossed, and she had a slight sneer. "You're not always doing evil junk. There, happy now?"

He looked Flame King in the face, pointing up at her and smirking. "I got her to say it, FK. You're my witness alright?"

Flame King was bewildered by this behavior. "I... have failed, Craw. I will not be able to make good on our agreement."

"Eh, don't worry about it. I messed up on my end too." He waved it off, then looked intently at Flame King again. "What are your plans?"

"My plan was to go down fighting, here, in the pass."

"Wanna join up with me?"

Flame King was struck by this proposition. "Join.. with you? As in the Brimstone Empire?"

"Sure the Empire, though me specifically. Think about it: You can't go back to the Fire Kingdom, at least not for awhile. You're pretty damn strong, and we've got a big war upcoming. This is a good chance to make some coin while the heat dies down in your homeland."

"You'd pay me?"

"Um... yeah." He said, as though it was obvious. "My question was wanna join me, not join me or else."

He looked down at the ground, still in a sat-down, weakened state. "I didn't have any plans... for what was to come after this."

"I'll take that as a soft yes." Craw turned, and began walking toward the other end of the clearing. "You can come with us back to HQ, and if you're not up to it then you can say no. Does that sound good?"

"Actually... it does. Sound good, I mean." Flame King got on his feet, and followed. Leaving the kingdom with Craw was the safest way; there could be more assassins. And he'd be free to turn down his offer afterward.


End file.
